FC St. Pauli

Besides the long-term absentees, Kauczinski will be without Bernd Nehrig, Luca Zander (both recovering from muscle strains) and Waldemar Sobota (tear of the plantar fascia). In addition, Lasse Sobiech, Johannes Flum ad Aziz Bouhaddouz are all doubtful for the trip south. "Lasse couldn't train today because of groin pain. Flumi still has problems with his Achilles tendon and Aziz has knee trouble. We're trying to control the workload to ensure they're all available, but we'll definitely travel to Regensburg with a larger group than usual," said Kauczinski in view of the injury situation. He remains in optimistic mood, however: "The lineup isn't always decisive, it's the attitude. We'll still put out a side that's good enough to take something from Regensburg."

Kauczinski knows his side face tough opposition: "We're up against a very good promoted side in Regensburg. They're very aggressive and full of running. They run at you, rarely allow themselves a rest and, above all, they never give up." With this in mind, the Boys in Brown have been meticulous in their preparations: "The training sessions have included drills in tight spaces with lots of physical contact to get the players ready for Regensburg."

The Boys in Brown will travel to Bavaria on Thursday, a day earlier than usual. Kauczinski: "We took a conscious decision to go down early to allow ourselves to focus even more on the game as a group." Around 3,000 St. Pauli fans are expected to make the journey to the Continental Arena on Saturday. "We're glad the fans are backing us and making the long trip to Regensburg – it's an important signal," said Kauczinski, who with a view to the situation his side find themselves in concluded by saying: "It remains in our own hands."

Photo: Witters