FC St. Pauli

Alexander Blessin on…

…the personnel: "I'm having a few problems picking a starting XI. We made some changes in the second half against Atalanta and they worked. The lads showed they wanted to be on the pitch and aren't simply going to settle for a place on the bench, which is exactly what we need. I'm delighted Manolis Saliakas has resumed training after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, but Friday's game comes around too early for him."

…cup games being a law unto themselves: "I do have a bit of experience in the cup. I got to the final of the DFB Youth Cup with Leipzig and won the cup in Belgium last year. It's always nice to be a part of something like that. The cup is the shortest route to a trophy, but we all know, of course, that this competition writes its own rules."

…opponents Halle: "They're in the ascendency a little bit. They had some problems in the first two games but have steadied the ship slightly in the league and beat Erfurt  4-0. We know it's a highlight for them and they'll be very motivated. Our job will be to give as good as we get. The lads are highly focused. We did a lot of work on our tactics in training today and were also very focused in the video preparation, so I'm not worried about us underestimating the opposition. They press high and aren't easy to play against, but we want to impose our game on them and we should be able to do that. We aim to dominate, of course, and cut out the mistakes we made in our last two games. We're the Bundesliga side and that's how we want to perform."

…settling in at the club: "I think I've settled in very well as far as the daily routine, the rhythm and the training are concerned. In the last two games against Norwich and Atalanta we've tried to get into a rhythm, and it's felt very good. The communication with the team is outstanding and I'm in constant touch with the players' committee. I'm very glad about that and optimistic."

…the position between the posts: "Ben has surprised me in pre-season and performed very well. In the end it's a decision in favour of Niko, not one against Ben. Normally I'd like Ben to have some games in the DFB Cup but because Niko missed the first few warm-up games because of his injury and needs match practice, we've agreed to go into the game with Niko in goal. I hope there'll more games in the cup and we can rotate. It's not set in stone but that's how I want to approach it, so to answer the question, Niko is the No1."

…the parallels with the warm-up game against Atalanta: "Halle will obviously want to press high and put us under pressure with their full-backs. In the middle they're very man-oriented. We've found a few things to escape the press, so let's see if we can put them into practice. I don't think they'll change their approach at home. We've heard Halle don't intend to show any fear and will try to play with courage. We have to be prepared for that. The key factor is to hold our own physically. It'll be tough if we go into it half-hearted."

Photos: Witters