Thomas Reis looks back on an eventful time in Gelsenkirchen. He continues to follow the club. His sacking at Schalke last year came as a surprise to him.
The former Schalke coach Thomas Reis would like to see the club show more patience with coaches. “I would like to see a certain amount of calm. It’s incredibly difficult because a lot of people have or want to have a say,” Reis told the German Press Agency. The 51-year-old, who is currently enjoying success at Samsunspor in Turkey, added: ”I think no matter who the coach is, you have to trust the coach sometimes.”
Reis took over Schalke in October 2022 and was relegated from the Bundesliga with the Gelsenkircheners despite a significant improvement in the team’s performance in the second half of the season. After seven games with seven points, Reis was let go last season.
“I would have liked more time. The timing was very surprising for me back then because there was no warning. I would have liked to have continued,” said Reis. ”I think I have always shown that I can develop teams. But you also need time for that. We had a complete overhaul back then.”
Under Belgian coach Karel Geraerts, Schalke were then in a relegation battle for a long time, ultimately saving themselves by finishing tenth. “Of course, I also questioned myself. That’s always the first thing I do,” said Reis. “But when you look at how the season went after that, I can say that I wasn’t the only one to blame. The way the team performed didn’t change much after the change of coach. That was a sign for me: “Okay, you didn’t do everything wrong either.””
Reis: “You also have to withstand external pressure”
Schalke started the current season with Geraerts, but parted ways with him and sporting director Marc Wilmots after six matchdays. “They say you want to build something over the next two or three years and after a few games the coach and sporting director have to go and you have to start all over again,” said Reis. “You also have to withstand the pressure from outside sometimes. Then maybe you can achieve a bit of continuity and not wear out so many coaches.”
The last Schalke coach to date to work for the club in this role for at least two years was Mirko Slomka from January 2006 to April 2008. Now the Dutchman Kees van Wonderen is coaching the club.
Despite the disappointing end, Reis does not regret his time at Schalke. “This club is really something special with its fans,” he said. “You can see that now in the second division. Although Schalke is not performing as well as everyone would like at the moment, the stadium is still full. And you often feel like you’re playing at home away from home. It was a great life experience.”