Karel Geraerts: We want to develop a winning mentality with positive energy

“I’m happy and proud at the same time to be part of this club now. I associate a lot of positive things with FC Schalke 04,” the new head coach said. The Belgian explained that those close to him also congratulated him on his new job since “the Royal Blues are very popular in my home country, partly due to having lots of Belgian players in the past such as Marc Wilmots. I followed the team very closely during my own childhood and that’s something that has never changed.”

An intensive exchange with those in charge at S04

As a result of this, Geraerts was interested right away in the chance to come to Gelsenkirchen after the first contact was made. “The first meeting with Peter Knäbel and André Hechelmann was excellent. We spoke intensively for more than five hours. I had a good feeling straight after that. It was a lot of fun talking about solutions, ideas and suggestions as to how to get FC Schalke 04 back to winning ways.”

Geraerts explained that his thoughts were consolidated once more when he got to see the club’s training ground and the VELTINS-Arena, whilst he was also present to watch S04’s clash against Hertha BSC. “The stadium and the atmosphere had a lasting impression on me. I’m proud to be able to take my place on the touchline here shortly.”

Despite the 2-1 defeat against the side from the capital, the coach revealed that he saw some positive things. “I said to my wife during the game that I can see potential within the team. Additionally, I was impressed that the team didn’t give up after falling 2-0 behind, but instead continued to battle on.”

Intensity on and off the ball

Geraerts thinks that there’s still room for improvement, however. “I’m a coach that likes to build out from the back with structured football. We need to play with intensity on and off the ball. I want to implement these ideas step-by-step at Schalke and give the team a boost.” He went on to stress that the team need to move on from the past. “I want to bring some positive energy. I want to create a winning mentality within the team, since there’s much more to football than what’s out there on the pitch. The mental aspect is also important.”

The Belgian explained that he wasn’t put off the job by the fact that FC Schalke 04 are in the relegation zone of the 2. Bundesliga after nine games. “I know what the situation is, but I don’t want to be looking at the table constantly. We’ve just got to work hard, then the results will take care of themselves.”

Faith in the players

It’s still unclear whether there’ll be a change of tactics, even though the new head coach mostly used a 3-5-2 system in Belgium. He has something in mind, but the important thing is that it suits the team. “That’s why I’ll decide on a system that fits us best after talking with the team,” said Geraerts, who operated as a centre midfielder during his playing career. “I had to be able to defend and attack well. I expect the team to be the same when I’m head coach.”

Geraerts stressed that he has faith in the ability of every player. “There’s always room for improvement, whoever you are. Age doesn’t matter in that regard. It’s important that we act like people, not robots. Of course, we want to work hard, but we should be able to enjoy ourselves as well.”

The issue of continuous improvement was also very important to Geraerts in his last job. “At Royal Union Saint-Gilloise, previously unknown players were able to improve drastically. One of them is causing a stir in the Bundesliga at the moment,” said the new head coach of the Royal Blues, referring to Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface. Deniz Undav, who is currently on loan at VfB Stuttgart from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion, also made a splash when he played for the Belgian side who, in spite of their recent success in the Europa League, were a second-division side not too long ago.