FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz on...

...the personnel: "Eric Smith hasn't resumed full training yet unfortunately and won't be an option. Besides the long-term absentees we also have three suspended players in Marcel Beifus, who was sent off playing for the Under-23s, Jackson Irvine and Marcel Hartel. All the others trained well yesterday. We have another two sessions today and tomorrow where we'll get ready to face Nürnberg."

...rejigging his midfield: "In Afeez Aremu we have a player for the holding position who's done a really good job there for long periods of the season. For the diamond position there are several options. We've already tried Etienne Amenyido there in a friendly and are convinced he can play that position very well, and in Rico Benatelli and Christopher Buchtmann we have two more alternatives who have filled that role this season. It's a bit of a puzzle every week, but maybe it's a bit bigger this time.“

...the loss of Marcel Hartel and Jackson Irvine: "It might have been better if they'd agreed among themselves who was going to pick up the fifth yellow card and when (he grins). As coach I have to think about how we can compensate for their strengths. The players who come in have qualities of their own and you have to see how you can get the best from them.“

...the Millerntor atmosphere: "You always want to get the place rocking straightaway. If we can activate this madhouse from the off, it's obviously an advantage for us. I have no worries as far as our fans are concerned, they'll be there straightaway and they're up for it as well. They know the players need their support. It's a privilege to be able to play in an atmosphere like the one here at St. Pauli. The lads need to soak it up and enjoy it and convert it into positive energy. If we can get the interaction between pitch and stands going, we can reactivate the Millerntor roar. You saw what it can be like after we pulled it back to 2-1 against Darmstadt. If we'd scored earlier, we'd have been able to mount even more pressure and could have come away with more. If we repeat our showing of the last 70 minutes or the second half, we can put in another really good performance with the backing of the fans."

...our attacking play: "The key for success once again this weekend will be making the right decisions and then acting on them quickly, especially when we're in transition and the opposition have lost their shape for a moment. We did a lot of things right against Darmstadt, we just didn't carry them through to the goal. I'm not worried, though, with the players we have. They'll be scoring again soon, preferably against Nürnberg."

...opponents Nürnberg: "They're a side whose hallmark is their excellent defensive organisation. They're really stable in that respect apart from the one or two games that messed their average up a bit. I saw them at Bremen and expect them to be very solid and tough in the tackle. If you look at the players they have, especially in central midfield with Lino Tempelmann and Mats Møller Dæhli, who we know very well here, they have good individual quality. We have to prepare for how we want to get them under control."

Photos: Witters