Thomas Reis: We want to show in every challenge that we want this game

“It was a really promising performance, but we unfortunately couldn’t top it off with a good result,” said head coach Thomas Reis about the 2-1 defeat on matchday 13. As a result, the S04 boss feels that “there’s no reason not to go with the same team again.”

Bülter available

The 49-year-old has the same players at his disposal from the Werder game. That means that goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann will still not be in the squad after his muscle strain. Marius Bülter, who was taken off with an ankle problem in Bremen, has been able to train this week and should be available.

“We want to pick up where we left off against Werder,” demanded Reis. “We have to look to be active and brave. The team know that if they defend more pro-actively then it’s harder for the opposition.” That’s how Schalke managed to reduce the number of chances Werder had last Saturday, though they still managed to score twice. At the other end of the pitch, Reis feels his side still need too many chances themselves to find the back of the net. “We simply have to keep on going. We have to work on creating lots of opportunities in games,” commented the head coach.

Physical side, strong from counter-attacks

Reis described Mainz as a physical side, who have a strong defence and one that isn’t afraid to play long balls forward. “They get their heads up quickly after winning possession. We have to be alert and make sure we have enough numbers back to cover,” said Reis, who nevertheless wants S04 to focus on their own game, which includes playing with confidence going forward. Another key aspect for the boss will be bringing the right level of aggression to the pitch tomorrow. “We want a certain mentality and DNA here. We want to show in every challenge that we want this game.”

Schalke finally want to get back to winning ways on Wednesday. “To earn a bit of luck in games you need to run and fight hard. Together with the fans, we want the reward for our hard work so that we can see some joy on the faces around the stadium,” said Reis. The S04 coach is hoping his side can rediscover one of the strengths from the successful promotion campaign last year: “Set pieces are one way of deciding games. We will focus on these and work on them in training. We have to start really utilising them.”