Schalke hope to end 'coach hopping'

Champions League side Schalke 04 must show some faith in trainer Jens Keller and stop the era of “coach hopping”, which has seen 13 trainers in charge of the Royal Blues in 12 years, according to chief executive officer Clemens Toennies.

Schalke, who reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2011, face a play-off in August to go into next season’s main draw for the European title, and will start the new Bundesliga season with the 42-year-old Keller at the helm.

With a contract until 2015, Keller, whose only previous Bundesliga experience included a two-month spell at Stuttgart in 2010, took charge last December, steering them to fourth in the league, after Huub Stevens was relieved of his duties.

Stevens, who led Schalke to the 1997 UEFA Cup title and coached the Royal Blues for six years between 1996 and 2002 in a previous stint, is their longest-serving coach in the last 20 years and Toennies said the club needs stability.

“Thirteen coaches in 12 years is too many,” the 57-year-old told German sports news agency SID, an AFP subsidiary.

“The fact that we once paid, in parts, four coaches at the same time is absurd and the era of this coach hopping must be over.

“With Jens Keller, we just want to look forward.”

While Toennies admitted that the club were guilty of “a little impatience” he added: “We all must learn to have some together. A good Schalke coach has to be a good football teacher, hard-working and disciplined.

“He also has to be socially aware. We don’t need a coach who wants to use Schalke as a stage.

“We need someone who wants to take the team forward. Jens can do that, so we must believe in him.”

Even in the event of a defeat in their Champions League qualifier, Toennies said the club will back Keller, without going as far as to give him a job guarantee.

Before Keller’s contract was extended at the end of the season, Schalke had been negotiating with ex-Germany midfielder Stefan Effenberg.

A concrete aim for the season is a top-four finish in the German league, to qualify for the Champions League, but Toennies drew the line at saying Schalke can rival defending champions Bayern Munich.

“I think the German league title will be blocked off by Bayern Munich in the next few years,” he admitted.

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