By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, March 1 (Xinhua) -- If they are to avoid relegation, then struggling Schalke 04 will need a miracle after having won just one of their 23 league games. Now nine points adrift of safety, things look bleak for the Bundesliga club.
The club's future is also far from rosy after the biggest clear-out in the league's history with head-coach Christian Gross, technical director Sascha Riether, and general director Jochen Schneider being sacked. Other exits were the assistant coach and a fitness coach.
Fans fear their club could follow the fatal examples of other prominent German football clubs like 1966 German Champion 1860 Munich and the 1998 league championship winner FC Kaiserslautern. Both disappeared to the lower leagues after financial crash landings.
Schalke claims they would survive one season in the second division despite having debts of up to 240 million euros.
But not only will income from TV deals decrease significantly. The contract with the main sponsor, the Russian energy supplier Gazprom, is only valid for the first tier. Negotiations including significant cuts need to be done in the second division.
COACHING ISSUE
Two options remain: Either a caretaker head coach until the end of the season or somebody right away to reboot the Royal Blues.
Sacked Christian Gross was Schalke's' fourth coach this season, following David Wagner, Manuel Baum, and Huub Stevens.
Paderborn manager Steffen Baumgart is mentioned as a possible Gross successor next to former Darmstadt coach Dimitrios Grammozis and MTK Budapest coach Michael Boris.
The range of candidates having mostly worked in the second division or lower leagues is an indication of the club's rapid descent.
LEADERSHIP TOPIC
With the head of football Jochen Schneider now gone, Schalke is drifting into an uncertain future without leadership.
Former Hamburg official and current talent academy boss Peter Knaebel has taken over the job for the time being. The club needs to install a management team quickly.
A new director of football is vital. Former players like Mike Bueskens and Gerald Asamoah took over the management around the team for the next weeks.
The newly formed board's primary target must be the club's survival in the second division.
Disappointed fan groups demand to be involved in rescue strategies. Over the past weeks, hundreds of supporters tried to invade the club's arena and offices. Fans have now set up the "future squad" initiative.
TEAM RESET
The reported player's revolt against coach Gross indicates the current team has no future in its current state.
More than a dozen mostly expensive and out of form players are said to be on the verge of leaving while complicated contractual issues need to be cleared.
Schalke announced its future intention to work with young talents and players from neighboring countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium to ensure new arrivals are better integrated.
Aside from a growing number of deeply concerned fans, the side's biggest crisis provides the chance for a fresh start, including getting rid of a squad not suited to life in Germany's top division.
The suspensions of players like Nabil Bentaleb and Amine Harit are an indication of the lack of discipline at the club.
With 11 season games to go, the chances of staying up are extremely slim. Next weekend the Royal Blues face relegation rival Mainz and three points are a must. Enditem