St. Pauli head coach addresses loss of Jackson Irvine | OneFootball

St. Pauli looked like sure bets to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga following a win over relegation rivals Holstein Kiel last weekend. Unfortunately for the Kiezkicker, news this week that squad captain Jackson Irvine would miss the remainder of the season shifted the calculus for Alexander Blessin’s team.

The loss of the player who exemplifies St. Pauli both on and off the pitch obviously constitutes a huge blow. Blessin nevertheless confidently listed replacements for his skipper at his Friday press conference. Moreover, the coach declined to completely write off Irvine’s season. Blessin expressed hope that the Australian captain might be back.

“[Irvine’s Australian compatriot] Connor Metcalfe is certainly someone we are considering,” Blessin said. “We also have Carlo Boukhalfa and Robert Wagner. We have three players who can replace him.

“With Jacko, we’re not ready to write him off for the entire season,” Blessin continued. “It’s a micro-fracture.“

Blessin effectively radiating assurance throughout the whole media round. It seemed to make little difference to him that his team had to square off against defending Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, perhaps because Xabi Alonso’s Werkself have their own fair share of problems.

Another reason for Blessin’s self-assured manner may relate to the fact that he’s been linked with surely lucrative moves to other top flight sides. Blessin was pleased to welcome one of his more successful attackers, Morgan Guilavogui, back to the squad as well.

“Morgan is ready,” Blessin remarked with a smile, “We’ll have to wait and see if he’s ready for the starting XI.“

GGFN | Peter Weis