FC St. Pauli

Alexander Blessin on…

...the injury situation: “We took Manolis Saliakas out of training as a preventive measure but he’s back now and will play if there’s no reaction tomorrow. Everyone else is available apart from Jackson Irvine. We’ll know in the next few days how long he’ll be out and when he can come back.”

...his attacking lineup: “We’ve switched things round in training and looked at what could happen. In our last game, we did a lot of things well. Nothing is decided yet. I’ll wait until after the session tomorrow.”

...opposition respect for our bouncebackability and good performances: “That’s what you fork for. Talking about playing ugly or being difficult to play against is one thing, and it obviously does you good when the results come with the performance. It helps the team go the next step in their development and it feels good. We have to stop going behind in games and it’d be good to keep a clean sheet again.”

...opponents Werder Bremen: “Before the reverse fixture I said I liked to watch their games because they have a clear structure and follow clear principles as to how they want to play. Nothing has changed in that respect. They play in a 3-5-2 and sometimes in a 4-4-2 depending on the situation. They had a problem scoring goals at home, but they’ve come out of their sticky patch in the last four games. They’ve performed well and deserve to be up there. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”

...playing last again: “If we play on a Friday and win, it’s great. If the games on the Friday and Saturday go the way they did last week, you know you have a chance to round off a good weekend on the Sunday. I don’t have a preference. It always feels good when we win our games. My assessment of the team is based on the way they’ve presented themselves in training. They’ve been going about their business in a very focused way and are determined to get a result at Bremen regardless of how the games go on Friday and Saturday.”

...the view that staying up is a mere formality: “I don’t intend to let up in the way I communicate with the team. We haven’t won anything yet, so we have to keep our performance levels high. Everyone knows the last two rounds of matches were good for us because the other results went our way, but that won’t always be the case. It’s important for us to focus on ourselves and go the final steps. That starts with Bremen. I know this group are very clear in their thinking and see things the same way. They all want to go that last step as soon as possible.”

Photos: FC St. Pauli