FC St. Pauli

...the personnel situation: "It's looking good, everyone's fit. Even Adam Dźwigała will be back soon. Nikola Vasilj is making really good progress and already saving balls again, albeit not footballs just yet. He has no more problems with his finger and will undergo a final examination next week or the week after."

...the focus on long balls and transitional play in training: Football is about switching the play in both directions. Lots of goals are scored within six to eight seconds of winning or losing the ball. This is actually part of every training session, but this week we focused a bit more on long balls and thus second balls as well. That doesn't really fit our football, but we've made some progress compared with last year. We aim to be even more variable and in a position to play our way around pressure. We have to be alert for the second balls. The lads have done well in that respect this week and it's sure to be a factor at Rostock, though we'll never be a team that hits the ball high and long to the front."

...the poor away record since the last win at Ingolstadt in late February: "It's something we have to work on as a team. I don't think we're generally playing badly away from home. We just aren't as successful. As a coach, you do think about what tweaks you can make but we haven't identified the one big tweak we can make yet. Last season we were successful away from home by St. Pauli standards but we want to take the next step and win more away games."

...the 1-0 defeat at Rostock in early April: "You can't compare the two games. The personnel situation has changed for both teams. It's also a daytime not an evening kick-off and we aren’t in the closing stages of the season. The players who were here last season have obviously experienced the atmosphere and so they have an advantage and can prepare better. I tell all the new players that getting booed and having most of the stadium against you can release energy. We go again over 90 minutes and are focusing on what we can influence. That's how we're going to go out there."

...opponents Rostock: "They made some good transfers in summer and six points is a very good return given the difficult opening fixtures they've had. They're a very physical side who are always aggressive and compact, but we can do that as well. We'll play aggressively and get into the tackles and will try to win the game. We've done that really well in our games so far."

...the potential for trouble: "I hope it will remain peaceful. As I keep saying, families with children should be able to go to the match without any problems and without being afraid of stumbling into a fight. That doesn’t belong in football, even when it's St. Pauli against Rostock. I'm looking forward to the game and appeal to both sets of fans to travel to the game peacefully and without any fighting."

...his favourite derby: "The only true derby is the one against HSV. Everything else is a northern or regional derby."

Photo: Witters