Is there trouble between Schalke coach Frank Kramer and leading players? S04 sports director Rouven Schröder can “not see any vibes”.

It’s probably not a good time from FC Schalke 04’s point of view: the day after the defeat in Porto, Bayer Leverkusen parted ways with coach Gerardo Seoane. Xabi Alonso will already be on the bench this weekend. A world champion for the Werksklub, which hosts Schalke on Saturday afternoon (3.30 pm).

After the 2:3 defeat against FC Augsburg last Sunday, the shock was very deep for S04 anyway. The Königsblauen are not yet in a relegation place, but that could change after the difficult tasks in Leverkusen (Saturday, 15.30/Sky) and against Hoffenheim (Friday, 14 October, 20.30/DAZN). Schalke coach Frank Kramer and sporting director Rouven Schröder talked about this starting position on Thursday. Both sat on the podium at the Schalke press conference from 12 noon.

Schröder also spoke about the latest rumours. According to these, there is said to be a crisis between coach Frank Kramer and the leading players. “If I had the feeling that there are building sites, I go straight to it,” Schröder stressed. “I can’t see any vibe that there is dissonance. We are all in the same boat, for better or for worse. I can’t see any antagonism, just a very clear togetherness.”

Meanwhile, coach Kramer gave an outlook on the personnel situation for the match against Leverkusen, which has been exacerbated by the absences of Rodrigo Zalazar (broken metatarsal) and Sepp van den Berg (ligament injury). (with ea)