FC St. Pauli

Kauczinski began by summarising the personnel situation, skipping over the long-term injury list: "Aziz Bouhaddouz trained again today after sitting out yesterday's session as a precaution with mild cold symptoms. Luca Zander has a slight niggle after taking a blow to the calf, but I'm confident both he and Aziz will be available. I'm also pleased to announce that Philipp Ziereis is out of pain and was able to warm up with the rest of the squad yesterday." Kauczinski declined to reveal which 18 players would feature in his squad for Sunday's game, however. "I'll let the players know on the pitch after training tomorrow," he said.

In a bid to get to know his players better and deal with what was an eventful day yesterday, the new supremo has done a lot of talking during his first two days. "I think we did a good job," he said, before adding: "Nevertheless, our sights and our focus are set on the tasks ahead of us. The sign of a professional is to put these things behind you and perform on the pitch."

One thing is very important for Kauczinski, who described himself as a "communicative coach". "The fun has to return to our game, that's elementary," he said. "I can't take away the pressure a professional footballer has to deal with, but feeling pressure and playing football well are not two mutually exclusive things. Everyone deals with the situation differently. Where I can help, I'll help. Where I need to push, I'll push. What I say depends on the situation."

The 47-year-old, who has kept up to speed with the top three divisions and has already "crossed swords" with most of the players, said he was delighted to have met "an open-minded group of players who are ready to perform." He continued: "They came up to me and weren't apprehensive at all. I've had lots of discussions with the leaders in the team and can tell you that everyone knows that the recent performances have been poor and they have to make amends."

MSV Duisburg provide the opposition for Kauczinski's premiere on Sunday. "They're a good team who operate as a solid, tight-knit unit and are physically strong. We have a tough job ahead of us, but I'm confident we can win. We're at home and we'll approach the game accordingly."

Kauczinski has a clear idea of the kind of football he wants to play: "I have an ideal, but it's a question of where you're at. We aren't starting from scratch and the players have lots of good attributes. Because of recent results we're focusing on our defending. It's about how we back each other up and make sure the gaps don't get too big." He was unwilling to predict how much of his philosophy will be in evidence against Duisburg, but he did say this: "I can add new impetus and give the team a plan, but it has to be clear that we won't see it through for the entire 90 minutes."

Photos: Witters