David Wagner on Freiburg, personnel and the fans

At the virtual press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Freiburg, David Wagner more or less ruled out a return for any of the players recently sidelined through injury. Can Bozdogan will return to the squad after serving his suspension, while Jonjoe Kenny will miss out after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend.

S04 are desperate to end the current run of 15 Bundesliga games without a win on Saturday. „It would do us all a lot of good to take a positive result into the summer break,“ said Wagner. „The only thing we can do is focus on Freiburg, look at their strengths and their game and find ways to play against it and be successful.“

Wagner on the fan protests

Despite the many setbacks of late, Wagner is convinced that he and the players can „turn things around“ and is still happy in his role as head coach. He did make clear, however, that the job is „far more enjoyable when you’re winning games and able to implement your ideas and visions,“ and admitted that things have not been anywhere near as fun recently, as they had been in the many weeks and months before that. „It’s like that for everyone at the club though, whether you work for Schalke or support Schalke,“ he added.

During the press conference, Wagner also touched upon the current fan protests. „It is completely fine to make your resentment and frustration known, just as it is your pleasure,“ said the head coach, adding: „It is clear that we are entering a dialogue and need to find the right solutions to the problems in this way. I am sure everyone involved is striving to achieve just that.“