Talk about ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’. No sooner had Thomas Reis been fired from bottom of the table VfL Bochum, than he has been installed at new basement club Schalke in succession to Frank Kramer. All this the day after the club’s sporting director quit. Welcome to the Veltins Arena!
The announcement of Reis as the new head coach of the Königsblauen was supposed to happen on Wednesday but with the shock resignation of sporting director Rouven Schröder, events took a different course, but the Gelsenkirchen club now have their man and he will take charge on Sunday as Schalke face Freiburg at home looking to get themselves out of the unholy mess they find themselves in.
“We are very pleased that we have been able to bring in Thomas Reis as the new head coach of Schalke 04” board member Peter Knäbel said on Thursday. “For us in the short term, it is about trying to get as many points as possible in the four games before the break for the World Cup.
“It was also of great importance to us to use the length of the winter break so that the team and coaching team are as prepared as possible going into the 19 games until the end of the season. We are convinced that Thomas is the right man for the job.”
Reis had reportedly been in contention for the Schalke post in the summer, but Bochum would not allow him to talk with them about the position and Frank Kramer was hired instead.
“I am enormously happy to now be a part of FC Schalke 04. Conversations went really well from the very first minute. With their promotion last season, Schalke have begun an unbelievable success story that we want to add another chapter to by staying in the Bundesliga.
“It is without question a big challenge, but I am absolutely convinced that we have the necessary quality in the squad to achieve this key goal together.”
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Schalke will be desperate for Reis to be the fire extinguisher and not somebody who is going to get burnt like so many before him.
