FC St. Pauli

…the time after his final appearance at the Millerntor: "I've tried not to pick my phone up over the last two days so I can stand back from things a bit and process what's happened. I did have a few private conversations over the course of Sunday afternoon, of course. It's very hard to process everything because you're looking back at 17 years. I still need a few more days."

…his last few days as a St. Pauli player: "I'll approach things with heart and determination until the whistle goes for the final time, but when you're on your way to training, you're reminded it's going to be all over soon. My locker's got quite full over the years. I've already taken a few things out but I still have more stuff to cart to the car. There's all the trophies St. Pauli have picked up in recent years in there (he grins). Second place in the Flensburg Förde Cup, for example. I also have our last official title in there. In 2011 we won the Hamburg Team of the Year Award. I'm going to have to get in touch with the museum.“

… his future at St. Pauli: "There are talks with the club. My contract runs out on 30 June. I didn't want to go straight into something new on 1 July to give me a chance to bring my years as a footballer to a close and have some time for me and the family. We're discussing what happens next. It looks as if I'll end up working mostly at the Millerntor rather than at the training ground.

…potential footballing roles: "I've been playing football since my third year. A lot of doctors say abruptly ending your sporting activity isn't good for you, but when considering playing in the Hamburg Oberliga [Tier 5], I have to remember I'll be working a few hours for St. Pauli as well. I also coach our women's third team and, taken together with the games at the weekend, training in an Oberliga team during the week, and my day job, that's a lot of hours. And it's not just me either, my partner works as well. So you have to weigh things up very carefully, but you do think about it."

…a testimonial at the Millerntor: "The club said early on that they didn't want to bid farewell to me in front of 300 people. For them it's important I get the send-off I deserve after 17 years, so that would be a testimonial game as soon as that's possible and the grounds can be filled again."

Photos: Witters