FC St. Pauli

In addition to the long-term absentees, Kauczinski will be without the forwards Cenk Sahin and Sami Allagui, who are both suspended. On the positive side, Bernd Nehrig and Waldemar Sobota have resumed full training. "It looks very good as far as Bernd and Waldi are concerned," he said. "Both will be in the squad on Saturday if nothing happens in the meantime. Johannes Flum trained for the first time today, but we'll have to see how things progress." Lasse Sobiech and Jeremy Dudziak, who had to pull out of the Regensburg game at short notice due to illness, have also returned to full training.

Commenting on Saturday's opponents, Kauczinski said: "Fürth are a patient side who switch the play very well and defend solidly. They also have people up front with a good turn of speed." It was important for the players to concentrate on their own performance, however. "We have to do our own thing, and then it doesn't matter who we're playing. We need an emotional attitude coupled with a disciplined performance. It's important to show resolve now."

The Boys in Brown have trained behind closed doors all week. "We wanted to place more focus on the game and so we've spent a bit more time together in this intensive week," the St. Pauli boss said. "We've worked on lots of little things together and the mood in the camp is upbeat. The mentality of the players returning to training has also done us good."

Kauczinski concluded his remarks by making special mention of the support of the fans: "We stood in front of our supporters at Regensburg and took a lot of stick, justifiably so, but at the end I sensed we'd closed ranks again. We have something to make up for and are looking forward to Saturday's game. The task now is to pick ourselves up, face up to Fürth and win the game together."

Photos: Witters