Ahead of the home match against FC St. Pauli, FC Schalke are making several changes to their squad.

Instead of slowly preparing for the home match against FC St. Pauli, Schalke defender Timo Baumgartl posted a video on Instagram showing him during a fitness training session.

He is doing jumps on a black box. An individual session on match day – because he won’t be in the squad for the tough second division game. Normally, the team is already together at this point in the day before a home game.

After a weak 45 minutes in the desolate overall team performance against 1. FC Magdeburg (0:3), coach Karel Geraerts is apparently making serious changes to the squad. Baumgartl is probably the hardest hit. But as Sky reports, Marcin Kaminski will also be rotated out of the starting eleven. According to the report, Ron Schallenberg will start in central defense.

The team had a big discussion during the week. “The players have a lot of answers in their heads. That’s why it was important for them to talk about their emotions and thoughts. Everyone should tell the truth to their face,” said Geraerts at the press conference on Wednesday. And the coach has apparently also found answers and wants to give his team a new face against the Bundesliga 2 leaders.

“I always have an idea of what we want to do,” he said at the press conference. “You can go to bed with peace of mind, there’s a match plan that hasn’t been put together by chance,” said the coach. This apparently now also means that previous regular players such as Kaminski will get a break

The changes could also be the coach’s last straw. Because the pressure on Geraerts is growing. Schalke 04 are still four points clear of the relegation zone and the first relegation spot. But another defeat on Friday evening against St. Pauli could further exacerbate the already volatile situation