FC St. Pauli

...the squad: "Etienne Amenyido and David Nemeth are back in training but won't be options for the weekend. Otherwise, everything's the same. Everyone's fit, in good spirits and up for the cup. Jakov Medić picked up a knock at Hannover but was fine on the first day of training."

...pre-season muscle injuries: "Muscle injuries are always suboptimal and given the frequency we've given it some thought. Nevertheless, if we look at how fit we were coming into the season, the intensity has done us good as well. We're on the right track."

...rotation: "It's always a process of weighing up what the opposition have to offer and your own options for changing the team. All in all, we've had a really good week in training. The first two games of the season have shown we're very stable. The task now is to find the right mix between adding new impetus and maintaining our rhythm."

...SV Straelen: "They're a fourth-tier side who operate on a semi-professional basis, so that's warning enough. They have a coach with an incredible CV. They'll have high hopes for the game and we'll need to be on the ball from the outset - though with my team I don't have worries in that respect."

...preparing for the opposition: "Actually, it isn't all that easy to get a concrete picture. They have a new coach, lots of new players and have only played one game. We took the game against Schalke II as our starting point and worked from their basic system. They have good compactness and physicality in the team and strengths in transition. We know what to expect but the focus, and this goes for the cup and the league, is on us."

...the DFB Cup:  "The lads will no doubt remember the great games and moments we had last year. Our aim is to have another home tie. We had great opponents last year but unfortunately only a very small crowd. But first we have to negotiate the first hurdle."

Photos: Witters