Dominick Drexler is FC Schalke’s top scorer. He revealed what he thinks about Thomas Reis, staying in the league and his time after his career in an interview.
FC Schalke has to make up a five-point deficit in the remaining season in the Bundesliga, and the fight to stay in the league will be a marathon.
Above all, Schalke must improve its offensive performance if it is not to face immediate relegation at the end of the season. One player who has been convincing so far is Dominick Drexler, who moved to Gelsenkirchen from 1. FC Köln on a free transfer in the summer of 2021.
His CV shows 14 competitive appearances, two of them in the DFB Cup. He scored five goals and provided three assists in these games. The offensive player, who has collected the most scorer points for the Knappen, thus seems to be one of the hopefuls for the rest of the season.
Nevertheless, Schalke wants to bring in new players, also for the offensive, which can only be good for the competition, as the 32-year-old emphasised in an interview with transfermarkt.de: “As a professional of many years, I know that competition stimulates business. When high-quality players come together in training and you know that you have a really good competitor breathing down your neck, it tickles out a few more percentages. We simply need that. All the players who are currently here and those who are still to come have to face this competition. Nevertheless, everyone has to subordinate themselves to the club and the situation, promotion was really difficult, our current mission is not a foregone conclusion. Our task is to keep the club in the Bundesliga – no matter what. For me, that also means bringing in a breath of fresh air. I don’t see that as a negative at all, because it’s about raising the quality. “
To leave three teams behind them at the end of the season. Drexler believes in staying in the class, also because of the new coach. The veteran thinks highly of Thomas Reis: “It’s like he already had the situation with a promoted team last season with Bochum. He has that on his CV, we also know that as players. He has already led a team in exactly this constellation to a class preservation finish. The biggest plus is that he can pass on the experiences and moments from last season to us. It is extremely important that you as a coach have been in such a situation before. So you have the experience and can therefore make different adjustments at different stages of the season.”
If Schalke ultimately celebrate remaining in the Bundesliga, the question also arises as to what will become of Drexler. His contract expires on 30 June 2023 and he could well imagine staying in Gelsenkirchen. He explained how comfortable he feels, how much he identifies with the club.
Perhaps he will even stay with the Königsblauen beyond his playing days. He is currently paving the way for a career after football, as he revealed. Drexler is completing the DFB’s ‘Players Pathway’ programme, at the end of which the former Kiel player should have his coaching licence (Licence B+) in his pocket. Drexler told Transfermarkt about the time after his career: “My friend Christoph Kramer took part in the programme, that’s why I got into it in the first place and because I found it exciting, I also applied. I am grateful to Peter Knäbel and Rouven Schröder for letting me take part in the programme last year so that I could get a taste of this area. I would like to stay in football after my active career, whether it will be as a coach or another position in the club, I don’t know yet. Basically, I always want to continue my education and this was a perfect opportunity to do so. “