FC St. Pauli

Fabian Hürzeler on…

...the recent impressive goalscoring form of Johannes Eggestein: “For me it’s a good sign when a player doesn’t let his head drop when he doesn’t play for a long time but rather puts the success of the team above his ego. Jojo should be a role model for all players. He shows that the success of the team and the club comes above all else. It pleases me when a player works so hard on his game and exhibits maximum professionalism. Jojo knows exactly what space he has to occupy. He’s extremely dangerous in front of goal and makes his teammates better. He simply deserves to start at the moment because he’s performing well. He’s a team player who represents big added value for the team.”

...Simon Zoller and a possible run-out against KSC: “Simon is totally professional. He gets stuck in in training and has great presence. He’s always involved and scores lots of goals. Simon has lots of experience, and we’ll definitely benefit from that. There’s always the likelihood of him playing. It always depends on the way the game is going and what the score is. We’ll see who plays and for how long in the next few games.”

...Elias Saad and the battle for places on the flanks: “Elias definitely showed a reaction after the game at Paderborn. It’s the reaction we expect from our players. The next few sessions will show whether we’re going to change anything. Performances in training are important for us. We want to keep the intensity and the competition for places high. We have fantastic options on the flanks. Etienne Amenyido is a candidate for the starting lineup. Connor Metcalfe has performed superbly when he’s come on. And Danel Sinani is performing really well in training, too, as he did playing for his country. It’s great that we can go into a three-match week with so much choice. We’ll need every player.”

...finding solutions to opponents who sit back: “It’s a legitimate way to play football but it won’t be mine. Ultimately, it’s not about playing pretty football, it’s about being successful. Football is a results game. We’re working on these things week in, week out, and from game to game. If we come up against it again at the weekend, I hope we’ll take another step forward.”

...Karlsruher SC: “They played very, very well against Schalke. They have high individual quality. In Jerôme Gondorf, Marvin Wanitzek, Paul Nebel and Lars Stindl, they have one of the best midfields in the league. It’s going to be important for us to exert pressure on the ball, close down the space and stop them getting crosses in. They performed as a team against Schalke and had a good body language – despite having gone five games without a win. The togetherness impressed me.”

...the praise for some impressive performances from our crosstown rivals: “It’s obviously pleasing when HSV players watch and praise us. It’s a compliment for the team and praise for our work, but we have to be careful as far as the expectations are concerned. We can’t be expected to win every game five- or six-one. All teams have their own individual quality. That was the case against Paderborn and that will be the case against Karlsruhe. Every team can hurt us. We have to combat that by working to the maximum. It’s not enough to play good, pretty football. We want and have to play successful football.”

Photos: Witters