Schalke 04 remains in danger of relegation in the 2nd Bundesliga, the performance in the 0-1 loss in Kiel raises questions. Is this because of coach Karel Geraerts?
Despite the negative trend in the second half of the season, FC Schalke 04 is not considering another change of coach. Sports director Marc Wilmots expressed his confidence in coach Karel Geraerts after the poor performance and the 0-1 (0-0) defeat at second-placed Holstein Kiel.
“A change of coach is not an option for me. The most important thing for me is continuity. Schalke 04 has changed coaches often enough. Karel is doing a good job, I am there at every training session. We don’t have a coaching problem,” said Wilmots. What he didn’t say, but probably meant, was: the squad planning in the summer of 2023 was too poor, the professionals are not strong enough.
Geraerts took over from Thomas Reis as Schalke coach on October 6. His record is average. Schalke won five, drew one and lost six of their twelve second division games. On top of that, Schalke were knocked out of the cup by second division leaders FC St. Pauli (1-2 after extra time). Hopes that Geraerts would be able to lead Schalke, who are in danger of being relegated, at least into the middle of the table have not been fulfilled so far. On the contrary: after the defeat in the far north, the gap between them and the bottom three is now just two points. The fear of relegation is greater than ever.
Schalke coach Geraerts: “We need consistency”
In contrast to his first few weeks, Geraerts had three weeks in the winter to work with the entire squad in preparation. In addition, almost all of the players are now fit, so a long list of injuries is no longer an excuse. Nevertheless, Schalke lost three of the four games in 2024, two of them after weak performances – before the Kiel collapse, S04 had also surrendered almost defencelessly in Kaiserslautern (1:4).
What Geraerts has going for him: He can’t be held responsible for the inadequate squad planning and the fact that he didn’t get the desired ad hoc reinforcements in the winter transfer window either, but only two professionals who still need time to reach their top level (Darko Churlinov, Brandon Soppy). The 42-year-old Belgian has tried enough – for example, many players were given a chance in the starting lineup. What’s more, he tried out strategies with three and four defenders, one-on-one talks, video analysis, loud pep talks, quiet pep talks. But what’s missing?
Geraerts puts it this way: “We just need consistency.” He doesn’t want to give up himself: “We can’t stop now, we have to keep fighting. There is a lot worth fighting for.” He wants to lead by example – and he can.