Thomas Reis mastered the many questions about his impending expulsion surprisingly calmly. Unlike the club management, who went into hiding after the 1: 3 (0: 1) at FC Schalke, the Bochum soccer teacher used the limelight for clear confessions.

Despite his team's major false start with six defeats in six games, the 48-year-old looked combative: "I can only say that I'm still keen to push the buck. I've achieved a lot in Bochum, that's not the end for me the flagpole." With a steady look he added: "You can also do it with me."

However, the usual mechanisms in such cases do not bode well for the coach. Sports director Patrick Fabian, financial director Ilja Kaenzig and supervisory board boss Hans-Peter Villis discussed Reis' future on Sunday until late in the evening. A decision should not be made until Monday. The fact that Fabian had already avoided a job guarantee for the coach before the game was taken as an indication of dwindling trust. "We're involved in competitive sports, so results are an important ingredient," the new sports director told the newspapers of the Funke media group.

Although Bochum are only the third team in Bundesliga history to have zero points after six games, Reis still sees himself as part of the solution and campaigned to stay: "I've seen a team that's following me, and I've had three so far I've had great years. If it's up to me, I would like to have more years." He sees the questionable starting position as an additional motivation: "Now we are being written off even more. That must trigger a greed to fight against it."

"I stand my man"

Reis was able to get over the lack of loyalty from the club bosses: "Nobody has to protect me. I stand by my man. It's important that we stick together within the team. And I have that feeling."

There is no sign of a deep gulf between professionals and coaches. Before the upcoming deliberations of the club management about the future of Reis, Simon Zoller reminded of his great merits. "This coach came three years ago and pulled us out of the shit. We've written a success story for three years. And VfL Bochum plays in the Bundesliga. That's where the coach is most involved," commented the attacker, referring to the promotion around one year and the strong past season with victories over the top teams FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

But unlike the relationship between the team and the coach, the relationship between the top management and Reis seems to be troubled. The latest reports also contributed to this, according to which the former Bundesliga professional is said to have toyed with a move to FC Schalke this summer. This could have contributed to the fact that negotiations to extend the contract, which ran until 2023, were delayed and postponed to the World Cup break in winter.

Relief at Kramer

On the other hand, the coaching topic at FC Schalke should be over for the time being. Goals from Dominick Drexler (38th minute) and Sebastian Polter (90th 6) as well as Erhan Masovic's own goal (73rd) brought great relief to Frank Kramer. Finally, the team of the former Bielefeld coach celebrated their first win of the season and climbed to 12th place. "Luck was on our side. We're very happy about that. We now know that we're competitive. We'll take that with us," commented Kramer den hart won success.

Rouven Schröder has little sympathy for media reports that the game against Bochum was not only a kind of final for Reis, but also for Kramer. "For me, the form is not appropriate. Frank Kramer is doing an excellent job," commented the Schalke sports director in the ZDF sports studio.

Another victory in the next district derby next Saturday at arch-rival BVB could dispel the skepticism of many Schalke fans about Kramer's work for a long time. Schröder set the tone: "We're taking a deep breath now, but we're still hungry. Now we're going to have a game that every Schalke player is looking forward to."