Rouven Schröder: Focused, but not overly reflective

“Everyone knew straight after the full-time whistle blew that we hadn’t played well, and everybody was anything but satisfied with the result and above all the performance,” reported Rouven Schröder. All of the mistakes – both those which concerned the team’s tactics as well as the individual errors – were clearly relayed during the team analysis meeting, commented the sporting director before adding: “The team were also very self-critical of themselves.” This is an important trait to have and speaks for the group’s character and mentality, and a group in which every member without fails wants to “give everything for Schalke, so that the team and the club can be successful,” said the 46-year-old.

One key observation point of this week’s sessions so far is that all the players are very focused on their work. “No one’s gone into hiding – quite the opposite,” Schröder summarised his impressions from training so far and explained that every individual in the squad is looking to establish a place in the starting XI and that the entire squad are all crucial to the team’s success.

Good communication with Reinhold Ranftl

“Everyone in the squad has a part to play,” emphasised Schröder, alluding to Reinhold Ranftl. The Austrian wasn’t included in the squad for Düsseldorf, but should instead focus on getting his mind clear for the weekend. “We had a very good conversation with Reini,” Schröder reported. “We still very much believe in him, support him 100% and want to help him out of this rough patch. When you see how he’s been training, you can see that he wants to use his chances and is giving it his absolute all.”

The Royal Blues will need to give it their all on Friday (18/2) against SC Paderborn 07. “They’re a tough nut to crack. Our upcoming opponents are yet to lose an away game all season,” said the sporting director. It will be important not to get too bogged down on Sunday’s defeat in Düsseldorf and instead focus on the next task.

Schröder knows all about dealing with situations like the one Schalke are currently in from his time as a player. “It’s important to be self-critical, but also to be relaxed to a certain extent. If you keep telling yourself again and again just how disappointing the last performance was, then you’re unable to clear your head and to prepare properly for the next game,” explained Schröder. “We’re going to look ahead together and are looking forward to the home fixture against Paderborn. Over the course of the 90 minutes, we want to show what we’re capable of and we have a good chance to do that by getting a good result on Friday evening.”