The debut of coach Thomas Reis ended like the six Schalke games before – with a defeat. Still, Reis wasn’t unhappy with everything he saw on the pitch.
“I saw a team that put everything into it”, said the 49-year-old on Sunday after the 2-0 home defeat against SC Freiburg. Full commitment alone is just not enough when the bottom of the table is playing against one of the top teams in the league. A new coach doesn’t change that.
Fans support Schalke despite their seventh defeat in a row
As a result, there were a few things that Reis had to complain about in terms of play. Excessive problems with your own pressing in the early minutes, poorly played switching moments and a negligent defense when you conceded the first goal are three of the points of criticism that the newcomer to the Schalke coaching bench addressed directly.
Despite this short and probably not complete list, the sobering seventh competitive defeat in a row did not cause whistles from the Schalke audience. When his team stepped in front of the north stand with the most loyal supporters after the final whistle, there was thunderous support. The cohesion between team and fans seems to be right in Gelsenkirchen.
First full week of training for the new coach
On the field, Reis should have known since Sunday evening at the latest that he has taken on a very difficult task at the bottom of the table. In terms of football, the Royal Blues simply couldn’t keep up with Freiburg. He praised that his team “didn’t fall apart” against strong Freiburgers.
Reis now wants to work on the shortcomings he noted against Freiburg in his first full week of training as S04 coach. “We didn’t play it well and we have to start with that,” said the former coach of Schalke’s relegation rivals VfL Bochum.
Reis wants to push for reinforcements during the World Cup break
During the winter break, S04 could also be active again on the transfer market. Against Freiburg it also became clear that there was a lack of speed in the game going forward. Reis announced he would be pushing for reinforcements during the World Cup break: “That is of course my duty.”
But he can’t hope for much, since Schalke is groaning under a large mountain of debt and only recently announced another loss of almost 20 million euros for the first half of the year.
Ouwejan believes in Schalke’s suitability for the Bundesliga
Regardless of possible and probably necessary reinforcements, Schalke cannot be denied their suitability for the Bundesliga. “We just don’t show it every game”said left-back Thomas Ouwejan, who had to be substituted against Freiburg in the first half due to knee problems.
Like his new coach, the 26-year-old was happy about the positive mood in the stands despite the sporting misery. “We get extra energy from the fans”said Ouwejan. “It’s unbelievable that they still have this support for us. We hope it stays that way.”
