Peter Knäbel was angry – more precisely, he was really pissed off. After Schalke 04’s defeat at SC Paderborn (1:3), the sports director mercilessly criticized the team of the struggling Bundesliga relegated team. It was “sadly naive,” complained the 56-year-old, and he was practically talking himself into a rage.
“We can’t talk about quality all the time and then not bring it to the pitch,” said Knäbel. If he had hoped for a liberating effect after the dismissal of coach Thomas Reis, he was wrong.
Knäbel called the desolate performance on Friday evening discouraged, stupid or incredibly naive in several sentences: “A big apology to the fans. We have mentally surrendered.”
Schalke remained in 16th place in the table for the time being, Knäbel described the explosive situation as “shit” and “extremely dangerous. We are still in the relegation zone – for now! There are only two places left.”
He can “tell himself all the time how good this team is, how much quality the players have, where they have been and what they would like to do. But in the end what matters is: what do they do with the jersey of the club that pays them ?”
Schalke 04: Knäbel describes coach profile
In the coming days, Schalke will have to look for a coach who can turn things around. The clear goal for the season was actually direct promotion back to the Bundesliga.
“It is important to have a coach who can deal with such situations, quickly stabilize a team and give the players the appropriate self-confidence,” said Knäbel. Otherwise you could face long weeks in the cellar.
© getty
2nd League: Table after Friday games
PlaceTeamSp.GoalsDiffPkt.1.Hamburger SV816:97162.Fortuna Düsseldorf814:68143.St. Pauli711:47134.Kaiserslautern713:112135.Hannover 96717:89126.Magdeburg717:134127.Holstein Kiel712:14-2128.Paderborn811:14-3119.Elversberg710:13-31010.Hertha BSC715:132911.Nür nberg711:13-2912.Hansa Rostock79: 12-3913.Karlsruher SC712:13-1814.Greuther Fürth712:14-2815.Wehen Wiesbaden76:8-2816.Schalke 04813:18-5717.Eintracht Braunschweig75:11-6518.Osnabrück78:18-104
2023-09-30 06:23:00
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