Jochen Schneider confirmed on Sunday that he could no longer be held as Schalke’s sports director if the new coach Christian Gross should not be able to bring about a turnaround at the Royal Blues.
When will Schalke finally improve again? Sports
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In short: If Gross also fails at Schalke, Schneider’s time in Gelsenkirchen will also come to an end. “Yes, that’s clear,” said the sports board on “Sky90” on Sunday when asked. “We don’t need to bypass the bush.” Nevertheless, Schneider wants to show fighting spirit until the end. “If someone tells me that I’m no longer needed, I’ll go, no problem.”
Schneider has been criticized for some time because of the squad composition and the unfortunate choice of coach at the bottom of the table. After 14 games, Schalke are at the bottom of the table with just four points and have been waiting for a triple point win for 30 league games across the seasons. Game one under the experienced Swiss Gross was clearly lost 3-0 at Hertha BSC on Saturday.
“Yesterday was of course a disappointment, but we’re not giving up,” said Schneider. “We will do everything we can to save ourselves.” From the fact that most experts already see the Revierklub as a relegated club, the Schalke team would also draw an extra portion of motivation: “I know, everyone wrote us off. That’s okay, that gives us another special strength that we can create.” The squires are currently six points behind third-bottom Arminia Bielefeld and thus on the relegation rank.
Gross will “find the right key”
Schneider is convinced that Gross can turn things around: “He’s a very experienced coach and a person of great respect. He knows how to tackle the players, he’ll find the right key,” he said.
Fresh staff should help. Despite the financially delicate situation, after Sead Kolasinac has returned from Arsenal, further signings will follow in winter. Schalke and Schneider could also accept the financial aid recently promised by former supervisory board boss Clemens Tönnies. “We will clarify and discuss this internally,” said Schneider.
