FC St. Pauli

Alexander Blessin on…

...the injury situation: “Everyone who was available in Leipzig is available again. There's been an unexpected setback as far as Scott Banks is concerned. He has a swollen ankle. We have to be careful there, so he’s been given ten days off. Connor Metcalfe is making gradual progress, but we can’t say when he’ll be back yet. I saw Elias Saad today and he seemed very clear mentally. It’s about looking forward now. It’ll be a long process and we’ll give him the best possible support.”

...the pressure to win at Hoffenheim: "We don't get any presents no matter who we play, and we have to go to the limit every time. I feel pressure every week from within. I want to win every game whether it's Hoffenheim or Bayern. Of the eight games so far, we can bin two. In the other six we saw we're more than ready for the Bundesliga. We've taken five points so far. If we'd taken another four, everything would be OK. We would have deserved them in terms of our performances. We have to get the missing points somewhere else."

...the chance of climbing out of the drop zone: "We were in a similar situation against Augsburg, Mainz and Wolfsburg. Before the Wolfsburg game we said we can't afford to come off second best in the tackles like we did against Augsburg and Mainz. That didn't happen and it mustn't happen again, especially against teams on the same level as us in the table or on the pitch."

...opponents Hoffenheim: "We know their strengths, but we also know there's been unrest there since the start of the season. They've gained more stability recently and we have to be wary of their individual quality, but we know what we're capable of and what we have to deliver. We think we have a chance."

...his expectations going into the game: "We did the video analysis today and went into Hoffenheim in connection with the second half in Leipzig. There are a few parallels. At Hoffenheim we want to deliver what we showed in the second half against Leipzig from the off. Cutting out the simple mistakes will be important, and we also need to find a balance between attack and defence. We have to give our all again in the third match in a week. We can do that and we will do that."

...the launch of the cooperative: "It's really interesting. It's the first time there's been anything like it in Germany and in Europe. There's something like it at the Green Bay Packers in America, but probably with a different structure. I'm curious to see the response. I can definitely see myself buying a share."

Photos: Witters