FC St. Pauli

Eric Smith on…

…the recent profligacy in front of goal: When you create as many chances as we have in the last few games, it's only a matter of time. When the first goal arrives, the rest will follow. We had the same problem in the second division and then came the home game against Kiel where we scored five and were buoyant after that. I think we're creating enough chances and often it's just a matter of centimetres, like when we hit the post at Mainz. The only thing we can do is perform on the pitch and then the goals will come."

…his defensive midfield role against Mainz: "We had more possession last season, and I was happy to play a bit deeper so as to have more of the ball, but it's different now because we're up against better teams. I play where the coach thinks I help the team the most – that's up to him to decide – and then I try to do my best. The first 30 minutes against Mainz were a bit tricky, especially when they hit the ball long, because I thought I was too high up the pitch. I had to get used to having people behind me. In the second half I was very tired because I hadn't run that much in a while. I'm trying to accustom my body to that."

…the team spirit within the team: "We know we've already lost if we start pointing the finger at each other. We have to be a better team than the others if we want to pick up points. Against teams like Leipzig, whose strikers are worth more than all our squad put together, we have to find a different way to win. I think we're doing a good job. We're trying to pull even closer together and stand by each other in every area."

In the 2-1 defeat at Dortmund, Eric Smith levelled the scores with a 25-metre screamer into the top left corner.

…the visit of Borussia Dortmund: "It's going to be a tough game. Dortmund have players with lots of individual quality. They aren’t very consistent, but we know the quality they have. It'll be difficult to beat them if they hit a good day. We know what we need to do to hurt them, though, and will try as a group to make it as hard for them as possible. We came close to getting a result in the reverse fixture, and we have our fans behind us now, so hopefully we can do it this time."

…his memories of the reverse fixture: "First and foremost, it was a fantastic stadium with a superb atmosphere. It's a privilege to play there. Everyone in the team enjoyed the 90 minutes and we should be thankful to have such a fan culture in Germany. It was a good game. Unfortunately, Dortmund retook the lead straight after our equaliser. I hope we can keep a clean sheet this time and score one or two ourselves. It was a nice feeling after I scored but we've talked enough about it now and have to look ahead."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters/DFL (Getty Images/Fabio Deinert)