Mike Büskens: We’re excited and full of energy

“We’ve got a full squad available to us. They’re all excited for the final two games,” said Büskens, who felt the team “has had a good energy this week.” Malick Thiaw, Marius Bülter and Thomas Ouwejan all trained with the team on Thursday (5/5), having all worked individually at times during the week. “We’re confident they can play,” reported Büskens.

The Royal Blues will definitely have more players available to them than their opponents. FC St. Pauli have had nine first-team players test positive for Covid during the week, but that certainly won’t make life easier for Schalke, according to Büskens. “Even if none of those players are able to return, their team would still have played an average of 26 games this season,” calculated Büskens. “They are a really good team and they know they have to win in order to remain in the hunt for promotion.”

Three points the aim

Regardless of the other results for teams around Schalke in the table, the aim on Saturday night will be to collect all three points. A big crowd should help push on the side, just like in Sandhausen, where S04 won it late on. “This reflects what I have associated with Schalke 04 over the last 29 years – the togetherness, the intensity and the passion,” commented Büskens, who added that every single individual at the club has worked hard to get the trust of the fans back.

The Schalke boss said that the players are well aware of the importance of the game and what it means to play for the club, even though the majority of them only joined the club at the start of the season. For Büskens, the team has therefore earned the right to be in this position, whilst it’s nice for him to be experiencing moments like this after the many disappointments during last season. “This is what I know from Schalke. This is what makes Schalke what it is and what it should be,” said Buyo. “Not everybody has to like it, but those who love this badge know what it means to be a part of it all.”