FC St. Pauli

Alexander Blessin on…

…the injury situation: "It's highly likely that both Elias Saad and Oladapo Afolayan will feature. Elias will return, and I'm delighted. He's been going flat out and is fired up. He won't start but there's a good chance he'll come on. We're all glad he's back. The decision between Lars Ritzka and James Sands hasn't been taken yet. Lars trained in full today, so we have another option. How the lads feel is then a gut feeling. I have a good feeling with both options."

…the expectations going into the game: "I'm expecting a high intensity encounter that will push us to the limit. Union Berlin come here in confident mood after their last game (eds: a 2-1 home defeat of Mainz 05). It's time we won two games in a row for a change to see us draw level with them in the table. That would be nice."

…the importance of the opening goal: "Against Bochum I had the feeling whoever got the first goal would win. There weren't that many chances. It'll be similar story against Union. We have to draw the right lessons from the Bochum game and look at our mistakes. Our play was very destructive and lacking in courage there, so that has to be our aim."

…home games at the Millerntor: "In lots of home games we've shown we can play good football here as well. Unfortunately, we've only taken five points. It bugs us and preys on our minds. We have some catching up to do. Nothing is sweeter than winning at the Millerntor. The lads are fired up and want to prove that every second weekend. We've cut out the simple mistakes and our susceptibility to counterattacks, which is pleasing."

…the change of coach by the visitors: "I know Steffen Baumgart from his time at Paderborn and Cologne and caught a lot of what was happening there. His teams play bold football. He likes to attack early and he's very emotional, of course. That's his premise. He looked at what was missing from his team and made some adjustments in the last game against Mainz. We've seen the quality Union Berlin have and how well they can defend. We have to create situations and see the chances they give us. In the reverse fixture we did little through the middle and we have to learn from that."

…the battle for places on the wings: "Noah Weißhaupt and Elias Saad obviously have quality on the ball in one against ones. They're hard to pin down. Oladapo Afolayan is a bit like a guy with a battering ram who likes to  run through brick walls. An important aspect is who goes together best with whom. For me it's about how the players come through for the team. Sometimes it's just a matter of nuance. We're in competition mode now and everyone has to accept that. It's the only way we'll develop and improve as a result. It's now up to everyone to get a few more percentage points out of themselves."

Photos: Witters