Miron Muslic ahead of Gütersloh: We’re looking forward to our opening friendly

“We’ll spread the workload on Saturday,” explained Muslic. “Managing the players’ minutes is very important after a demanding few days of training. At the end of the first week, nobody will be playing the full 90 minutes.” The 43-year-old welcomed his players back last Sunday for a session at Berger Feld in front of 3,700 supporters. Five further public sessions have followed ahead of the side’s first friendly fixture, alongside additional work in the gym.

Muslic has been very pleased with the opening week of pre-season. “We’ve trained with real intensity during our first week back. We’re making the most of every session and every day to work as effectively as possible.” The meeting with last season’s fourth-placed side in the Regionalliga West will provide a welcome change of pace. “We’re obviously looking forward to our first friendly. Gütersloh are an ambitious fourth-tier side and have already played Arminia Bielefeld this week.” FCG suffered a 3-0 away defeat against their neighbouring second-tier club on Wednesday.

Schalke’s two new signings could make their first appearances for the club at the NRG24 Stadion im Heidewald on Saturday, with Satoshi Tanaka and Junior Adamu both travelling to to the venue. Luca Vozar, who has stepped up from the Knappenschmiede youth academy to the first-team squad, will also be involved. Muslic is expecting a strong crowd for the away fixture. “It’s a relatively short journey and we know there are a lot of Schalke fans in and around Gütersloh. We felt the support and the fantastic atmosphere from our fans at the first training session. I expect more of the same from the Schalke supporters on Saturday afternoon.”