Jochen Schneider on personnel decisions and a path out of the crisis

Jochen Schneider on…

…dealing with the sporting crisis:

We need to develop a team mentality that will allow us to be successful again. It’s clear that the quality is there in the team. If the team can put their potential together with the right mentality, then we’ll get back to having positive experiences. The first half against Wolfsburg was a big setback, and I didn’t expect it after the good game against Mainz. Getting that first win will be a big weight off our shoulders. It’s about the here and now and about keeping the side in the Bundesliga. That’s the only thing that matters.

…the decisions regarding Amine Harit, Nabil Bentaleb and Vedad Ibisevic:

There were difficult conversations that no-one enjoyed. When you come to believe that those conversations are necessary, you have to have them. The decisions were needed for the team and the club. It’s not about individuals, it’s about getting out of the current situation. It’s about the club, about Schalke 04.

…his own errors:

It’s always easy to look back with the benefit of hindsight. We have to make decisions in the here and now. I’ve also made errors, definitely. I’ll be the first to say that. When decisions like Tuesday’s need to be made, then it’s clear that errors have been made in the last few weeks and months.

…Harit and Bentaleb’s future:

With Amine, some things happened at the weekend that we couldn’t tolerate. He needs some time to reflect and ask: What do I need to do to help my side and help my club? There hasn’t been one single event with Nabil – it has been a process. The door is open to both of them to return. They both need this time to reflect and get back to what’s important – and that’s the team.It’s not about personalities, it’s about improving our sporting situation.

…the decision to dissolve Vedad Ibisevic’s contract:

The incident with Naldo at training has nothing to do with the decision. We had a conversation about how our work together hasn’t gone as we both hoped. Vedad has gone to his family in Berlin and won’t train with us anymore. He had hoped for more playing time, and we had hoped that he’d be able to help the team more. Despite that, we go our separate ways on good terms.

…the reasons for parting ways with Michael Reschke:

We split with Michael Reschke on Tuesday by mutual consent as we have differing opinions. I still have a very good relationship with Michael as I always have had; we’ve known each other for 25 years. We’ve agreed that we’ll spread that responsibility over more shoulders, namely our sporting coordinator René Grotus, Sascha Riether, Mike Büskens and me. Reports that Sascha Riether has been promoted to sporting director are false. It’s not about personalities, it’s about improving our sporting situation. We have five hugely important Bundesliga games ahead of us. Our full focus is on those.

…Salif Sané, Goncalo Paciencia and Ralf Fährmann’s injuries:

Salif Sané is seeking the second opinion of a French doctor. We’ll try and go carefully with the injury and he’ll start work on rehabilitation with Werner Leuthard now. Goncalo Paciencia is on the way to Portugal to be examined by his doctor. He has a knee injury. We need to wait and see what the diagnosis is. Ralf Fährmann also has a knee injury. We’ll let you know what the diagnosis is as soon as we can.