Schalke’s turnaround under Thomas Reis: Bundesliga strugglers on eight-game unbeaten run under new coach

Which Bundesliga team is on the longest unbeaten run in all competitions? It is not leaders Borussia Dortmund or reigning champions Bayern Munich. Improbably, that team is Schalke, one place and one point off the bottom of the Bundesliga table.

It reflects the progress that has been made under Thomas Reis since his arrival in October. It also highlights the dire situation that he inherited and how much work still needs to be done if Schalke are to avoid the ignominy of relegation back to the second tier.

This is one of the giants of German football, Bundesliga runners-up as recently as 2018. But Schalke became a byword for chaos in the years that followed, suffering a spectacular fall. Even promotion in the spring soon seemed likely to become a dead-cat bounce.

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Four-goal defeats to Leverkusen and Hoffenheim led to the sacking of Frank Kramer with board member Peter Knabel describing the defeats as "not worthy" of Schalke. A run of eight straight losses left them rock bottom until Reis finally ended the sequence.

So welcome has been the impact of the 49-year-old coach that the club have already affirmed their commitment to him even if relegation follows. But such is the turnaround there is a growing belief in Gelsenkirchen that this scenario is no longer inevitable.

How has a man sacked by Bochum in September brought about the change, despite a bleak injury list and a bleaker mood? Schalke forward Sebastian Polter worked with Reis last season, when he was the top scorer at Bochum, and knows his methods well.

"The most important thing was the big break," says Polter, referring to the 70-day gap between games as a result of the World Cup. "Every coach has a different philosophy and so does Thomas Reis. But we had a lot of time to work on things that we were not doing well."

Polter admits the turnaround was not easy but he believes the focus on being more compact and relying on the counter-attack has suited the squad. "You need the players to play this game and I think that is why it looks quite good at the moment," he adds.

"We concentrated on having a good shape as a team, defending well and starting from there because this is always the fundamental, not getting goals all the time. If you receive every single game, three or four goals, then we have to score four or five to win."

There remains little chance of that. Schalke are the lowest scorers in the Bundesliga. But Reis tightened up defensively, a fact emphasised by a recent run of four consecutive goalless draws. It has not always been entertaining but it has been effective.

"One goal can be enough to win the game if you have a clean sheet," adds Polter. "We want to improve as a team to score but first of all it was really important to be more compact to not let a lot of big chances against us. And I think we are in a good way."

Finding a partnership in the centre of defence has helped. Moritz Jenz arrived on loan from Lorient and Schalke did not concede a goal until his fifth game. It all clicked alongside the experienced Japan international Maya Yoshida, once of Southampton.

"This is the problem, Maya had a lot of defenders next to him in the first half of the season," says Polter. Now, Yoshida's leadership skills have become clear. "I think he has brought us a lot of experience on the pitch but also off the pitch," says goalkeeper Michael Langer.

"He is a very communicative guy in every sense. He has always good advice, always a clear mind about how football should be, and he is very respectful and hardworking. I think every young player in our team can look up and say, like, okay, I have to do it like him.

"Because he is like a perfect example every day. How he works in training, the attitude, the preparation, the preparation after training. So he is fully professional. It is the quality as a player, but also the quality as a human being. A big win for us."

There is talent in the team too. The return of young Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Zalazar after four months out injured could yet prove highly significant. "His quality is so big, that kind of player you do not have often in your team," says Polter.

"He has got like these special moves. Sometimes even without a situation, he can do something special. It sounds crazy but it is like this. To have him back in the team is really important. I think you can see also in our game that we need him."

Reis is beginning to put that all together, as shown by the recent 2-2 draw against Dortmund in the derby, the only team to take points off the Bundesliga leaders since the turn of the year. "Confidence is growing," says Langer. "You can feel it from week to week."

With back-to-back games against Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin, the two teams directly above them in the Bundesliga table, coming up after the weekend, Schalke are set for a defining period in their season. The clarity of purpose they now have could be key.

"We can still improve," adds Polter.

"We need to work on it together because we are in a team sport. We are not tennis players, we have to perform as a team. And that is what we doing in the moment, really well, and that what makes me optimistic that we can achieve our goal this season.

"We all want to stay in the league for the club and the supporters. Hard work always gets results and the result will be that we stay in the league." It is a league that is better with Schalke in it. And a Schalke that are far, far better with Thomas Reis in charge.

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