FC St. Pauli

Fabian Hürzeler on…

...opponents VfL Osnabrück: "They changed their coach recently. Nevertheless, we won't be deceived by the situation in the table because they've been unlucky in lots of games. They're a team who are capable of playing decent football because they have players in their ranks who are really good footballers. They have good depth in attack, so we're approaching the game with maximum professionalism because we know it's going to be very tough there."

...Osnabrück's new coach, Uwe Koschinat: "Against Schalke he went with a 5-3-2, similar to the formation he went with here when he was in charge of Bielefeld. They switched to a back four that day, so we're preparing for both systems. They were very flexible on the ball. They kept things very tight and that allowed the full-backs to keep pushing forward. You can definitely see the coach's philosophy there."

...the injury situation: "We trained after the cup game and apart from Simon Zoller all the players are fit. He still has a niggle but will resume training soon."

...the final Saturday night game this year: "I'm a fan of evening kick-offs. Playing under the lights is always special and that goes for Osnabrück, too, where a fierce atmosphere awaits us. In recovery terms, we'll try to keep the day before short and then do some brief, high-intensity stuff on matchday. For the recovery after that we'll also ensure the players get enough sleep."

...the lessons from the first half of the cup game: "We have to remain patient. Both teams left to play before the winter break will sit back like Homburg did and try to switch the play quickly and capitalise on any mistakes, so we'll have to be patient, keep spreading it wide and see a lot of the ball because being in possession means the opposition have to defend. We played decent football in the first half, even though we didn't create that many chances. Chances don't come thick and fast when teams sit back and so we have to make them tired, which we did well against Homburg."

...the matchup of first against last: "My team have demonstrated often enough this season that they approach games like these with maximum professionalism. I think these games will be absolutely decisive for the way the season goes and that's what I've told my players. You're always motivated in a derby and in the cup. Going to the limit against the bottom team is a challenge and a new test of how far we've come in our process, and that's what it'll come down to on Saturday."

...the targets going into the winter break: "The most important thing for me is that we win games. Nevertheless, if I only looked at the results, we'd be neglecting the process. The performance is important because if you get that right the results will come, which is why I think having this balance in football is important in general rather than focusing too much on results. In the long run teams will be successful if the performance and the development are right and if you spot things, and so it's important for me that we go into the winter break well. We obviously want to avoid any negative results before the winter break."

Photos: FC St. Pauli