"We know we can do it!" – Jackson Irvine backs St. Pauli's survival hopes after Heidenheim setback

Jackson Irvine has acknowledged that St. Pauli were not good enough against Heidenheim at the weekend, but remains confident in the team’s survival chances.

Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images

FC St. Pauli suffered a major setback in their bid to avoid relegation at the weekend, falling 2-0 to bottom-placed 1. FC Heidenheim.

With just three games left to play, the Kiezkicker sit in the relegation play-off spot in 16th, five points behind 15th-placed local rivals Hamburger SV and just one point above 17th-placed Wolfsburg.

Speaking after the match, St. Pauli captain Jackson Irvine admitted the frustration of the defeat, but called for focus on the final stretch of the season, maintaining belief that the team can still secure survival.

“It’s tough because we had a huge chance. If you don’t reach your peak performance in this league, you’ll get rolled over. We were too passive and didn’t put the tackles in, and when you make the wrong decisions on top of that, you lose the game. It’s as simple as that," Irvine said.

"We have to focus on the last three games and the nine points that are up for grabs. The task now is to pull together and regroup. We all have to look at ourselves and what we can control as a group. We know we can do it – we’ve put in some good performances, especially at home, even if the results haven’t always gone our way.”

St. Pauli face Mainz, RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg, respectively, in their last three league games of the season.