Benito Raman: The coach knows how to deal with the players

The Belgian believes that he had put too much pressure on himself to perform straight away after making the switch from Fortuna Düsseldorf. Furthermore, he had minor injury problems to deal with when he first arrived at the club. “I’m on the right track now,” said Raman, who scored the winning goal in Schalke’s recent 2-1 win over Werder Bremen.

Raman believes that game management was a key factor in their win over the Green-Whites, including keeping the ball at the corner flag. This is something that they have failed to do in other matches, conceding late goals against both FC Köln and Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Different to the Düsseldorf game

The three points in Bremen have led to a great mood around the dressing room, and the team are now looking ahead to their next game against 1. FC Union Berlin on Friday (20:30 CET). “We want to play our game against Union and we will give everything we have to get the win,” stated the 25-year-old, before explaining how he had to change his style of play to suit his new club, “In Düsseldorf we loved to play on the counter, here we have a lot more of the ball.”

Raman believes Schalke’s good form is largely down to the influence of David Wagner, “We’ve adapted to a new style of play this season. Everyone wants to prove that they are performing better than they did last year.” The striker added, “The coach is vastly experienced due to his time in England, and knows how to deal with his players.”

One example of this is Amine Harit, who has already scored six Bundesliga goals this season. “Amine is playing with a lot of confidence and has built up a strong run of form. He likes to play in a fluid system,” Raman said about his teammate.

Dreaming of EURO 2020

Raman is determined to keep up his current form, not only in order to be successful with Schalke, but also to continue being called-up to the Belgian national team. He has high hopes of travelling to the Euros this summer to represent his nation in a major tournament, “My goal is to take part in the European Championships.” The 25-year-old is confident of achieving this, but is also aware of the huge competition he faces, “It will be difficult, but I will do everything I can to be selected.”