REACTION | Schalke’s next coach must create defensive solidity to help avoid relegation | OneFootball

On Wednesday, Schalke sacked Frank Kramer with the club sitting 17th in the Bundesliga, just two points off 18th placed Bochum. This brings an end to Kramer’s five-month reign in charge of the Royal Blues.

Kramer oversaw an overhaul of the team that got promoted from the 2. Bundesliga with 17 new players joining the Königsblau over the summer. Such overhaul normally puts a team at a disadvantage due to the new players needing time to adapt and integrate to the new environment.

Additionally, Kramer was taking over from Mike Büskens who turned the team around and helped them achieve promotion last season. Furthermore, a reason club bosses appointed the former Arminia Bielefeld head coach is because he was happy to work with the current staff setup, rather than bring his own coaches, as Daniel Farke wanted to do.

S04 have struggled in the final third with Dominick Drexler being their top scorer with four goals. Simon Terodde has struggled to once again adapt to the Bundesliga with just two league goals this season.

They are also weak on the defensive end having conceded 24 goals so far this season, this did not help with the departure of Malik Thiaw, who moved to Milan late on in the transfer window. The team has noticeable gaps in their defence which has been easily exploited with the sum of it being seen in their most recent 5-1 loss to Hoffenheim in the DFB Pokal.

Schalke find themselves in a similar position to when they were relegated two seasons ago. They are a shadow of the team they once were and will need a coach who can create some sort of defensive solidity in the team to give them a chance of escaping relegation.