FC St. Pauli

Hauke Wahl on…

…the league table: "It's just a snapshot. We're very happy with the win against Hoffenheim. It was a busy week but very successful in my view. For a promoted club to take four points from two games is not bad. We went into our days off feeling good."

…the mood in the camp after a decent week" "It doesn't make much difference to us and nor should it. You always have to think about the next game. We've taken a big step in the right direction, or even two if you look at the week as a whole. It's not as if we're more relaxed. We have another big ask in front of us and that's what we're focusing on."

…opponents Bayern Munich: "From a player point of view you want to prepare for every game and you look forward to every game. For the fans it's special when Bayern Munich come to us. As a player you feel a bit indifferent about it. I'm looking forward to a home game and to the opposition, of course, but it's not as if I can't sleep all week or I'm making a big deal of it. It's just another Bundesliga game, even if the individual quality of the opposition is several magnitudes higher than what's come before."

…the sense of anticipation before the game: "We always look forward to playing in the Bundesliga because we earned the right to be here last year.  Half past three at the Millerntor is a time we could all get used to. The Millerntor is simply a stadium we love to play at. When we run out to warm up the atmosphere goes up another notch. We're looking forward to the game, there's no question about that."

…his matchup with Harry Kane: "There are so many top-quality strikers in the Bundesliga and when you look at the Bayern team I think it would be very poor of us to pick one out. Our match focus would be wrong if we did that.  Bayern have lots of good players and Harry Kane is obviously one of them. It won't be easy to mark him out of the game. That's something we can only do as a team. But it's about all the players in the Bayern team, and we can only beat them as a team."

DFB Cup second round on 13 January 2021: Hauke Wahl (2nd from left) draws Holstein Kiel level at 2-2 against Bayern in time added on. Kiel go on to win on penalties.

…knocking Bayern out of the cup with Holstein Kiel: "We caused a sensation when we got through to the next round. To score the goal was a great feeling. I haven't scored that many during my career and then I go and get one in that game, of all games. It was very special, but I was even more pleased with the team performance."

…the mental aspect at the weekend: "The mental aspect is important as always. You always have to be ready mentally and expect setbacks so you can respond to them. I don't think it'll be all that different at the weekend."

…the first home goal this season: "That's obviously a bigger subject for debate in the media than for us in the dressing room. I didn't even realise until after the Wolfsburg game. It's just not something you think about. We've always scored goals so it would nice if we could score at the weekend. We'll do everything we can to beat them."

Photos: Witters