Thomas Reis looks back on an eventful time in Gelsenkirchen. He continues to follow the club. His departure from Schalke last year came as a surprise to him.
Former Schalke coach Thomas Reis would like to see more patience with coaches at the club. “I would like to see some calmness return. That’s incredibly difficult because so many people have a say or want to have a say,” Reis told the German Press Agency. The 51-year-old, who is currently working successfully in Turkey at Samsunspor, added: “I think that no matter who the coach is, you have to give the coach some trust.”
Reis took over Schalke in October 2022 and was relegated from the Bundesliga with the Gelsenkirchen club despite a significant improvement in the team’s performance in the second half of the season. After seven games with seven points, Reis had to leave last season.
“I would have liked more time. The timing was very surprising for me at the time 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 need time for that. We were going through a complete upheaval at the time.”
Under Belgian coach Karel Geraerts, Schalke then spent a long time fighting relegation, ultimately saving themselves by finishing tenth in the table. “Of course, I 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 worked didn’t change much after the change of coach. That was a sign to me: ‘Okay, you didn’t do everything wrong.'”
Reis: ”You also have to withstand the pressure from outside.”
Schalke started the current season with Geraerts, but parted ways with him and sporting director Marc Wilmots after six matchdays. “They say they want to build something over the next two or three years, and after a few games, the coach and sporting director have to leave and you have to start all over again,” said Reis. “You also have to withstand the pressure from outside. Then maybe you can get some continuity and don’t wear out so many coaches.”
The last Schalke coach to work for at least two years in this role was Mirko Slomka, who was in charge from January 2006 to April 2008. The club is now coached by Dutchman Kees van Wonderen.
Despite the unsatisfactory end, Reis wouldn’t want to have missed his time at Schalke. “This club is a big deal with its fans,” he said. “You can see that now in the second division. Even though Schalke isn’t 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 when you’re away. It was a huge life experience.”