FC St. Pauli

Andreas Bornemann and Alexander Blessin on…

...the season so far:

Bornemann: "There haven't been any major surprises to date. What we've seen is largely what we expected. This league is a huge challenge on every level, not just for the team but for the club as a whole. We said from the start that we're a newly promoted side looking to establish ourselves in the Bundesliga. We knew staying up would be much more difficult than winning promotion. We had to prepare for negative experiences, though no one likes losing. We've done that incredibly well with Alex at the head of the coaching team. There have been games and results where we couldn't be satisfied, but the team didn't disappoint me once in 2024 and the first part of the Bundesliga season. The second part that will be no less challenging, but we can look forward to it. The targets will be no different. We want to keep picking up points. We'll see in May whether we've done enough to achieve our goal of staying in the Bundesliga."

Alexander Blessin: "We learned the hard way in the first three matches even though we performed well. If you take the 15 games as a whole, you can see how we want to play. The premise was we'd be awful to play against and I think lots of teams haven't enjoyed facing us. We knew there'd be ups and downs. The main objective was to focus on ourselves. We have to go to the limit every time to win matches. The position we occupy in the table is a very respectable one, but I have to raise a warning finger because we haven't achieved anything yet and it's merely a snapshot. We have to go full throttle. The remaining games will push us to the limit, but I'm confident. As far as our work ethic is concerned, I've said throughout that there hasn't been a single week where the lads haven't pulled their weight in training, which is why I feel so positive that we can take the momentum into the new year with us."

…Noah Weißhaupt, who joined the club just hours before the news conference:

Andreas Bornemann: "We first looked at him two years ago, but any deal was off the table as soon as Freiburg sold Kevin Schade to Brentford. The door opened up again and we've agreed a loan until the summer. We envisage him playing in a central position for us."

Alexander Blessin: "Our lack of goals is a constant topic of discussion. For me it's important how many chances we create, and the stats have been OK throughout. Noah will give us extra quality, especially with his pace and in one on ones. We're getting what we've been lacking a bit so far."

...Abdoulie Ceesay, a transfer target according to the media:

Andreas Bornemann: "He's the type of player who'd fit in really well. There are still a few things to discuss before we can finalise a deal and it'll take some time."

Alexander Blessin: "Andreas and I are in constant contact. We have to specialise on a segment of countries. If a player in Belgium has a good season, they move out of our price range. They can soon cost five to eight million euro. We have an outstanding chief scout in Jan Sandmann and we keep saying we have to concentrate on countries like Estonia. Ceesay is a very interesting player who would make us more flexible. We had a few problems in that regard, especially in the last few weeks, even though things were working well. We want to improve our depth."

...potential departures during the winter transfer period:

Andreas Bornemann: "It felt like we down to the bare bones towards the end of the year. We needed every player, and all the indications are that it will stay that way for the first few matches. We'll have to see how things develop. If some players return sooner than expected and the new ones have an impact, it may be the case that a player approaches us, but nothing is planned for the moment. On the contrary, we're planning to contest the second part with the current group and maybe add to it. We can't rule out any additions this early in January."

…the latest on Elias Saad, Connor Metcalfe, Robert Wagner and Karol Mets:

Alexander Blessin: "They're making good progress. Elias is ahead of schedule and has been doing tempo runs for the last few days. We'll have to see how he copes with that. The next step is to assess how we can include him in our plans. It will then be a question of the pain point on the ball and in the tackle. We want to ease him back in. With Connor the pain point is decreasing, which means we can gradually step up his workload, but we don't want to throw him in too early either. We're giving him the time and will be glad when he can hook up with the team again. We know how important Connor is for the team and are in good spirits as far as he's concerned. Robert's injury wasn't just a muscle tear. The tendon was involved as well, and you have to be careful. He's been running with Elias and come through it OK. Robert is ready to take the next step but needs more time. All three are working hard to return as soon as possible. Karol hasn't resumed full training yet, but I expect him back very soon, so we'll just have to wait and see."

...the focus in training during the short mid-season break:

Alexander Blessin: "We have a very short week now given the friendly at Braunschweig. Our play off the ball will always be the main theme and we'll keep working on it, whether it's in a 5-3-2 or with three strikers. Another focus will be our transitional play. We squandered a few opportunities in this regard and there's still room for improvement. We won lots of balls, but the final pass was lacking too often. If we do better and show more composure there and play the last two passes better, we'll have more chances and score more goals. Those are the two blocks we're working on in the short time available."

...his first six months with St. Pauli in the Bundesliga:

Alexander Blessin: "It isn't that easy for a coach when you're completely new, but the players and the staff team made it easy for me. As far as the day-to-day work and interaction with each other is concerned, I'm really enjoying it. I found it very easy to settle in because St. Pauli and Union Saint Gilloise are very similar clubs in terms of their thinking. The Bundesliga is bigger, simply in terms of the media."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters