Berlin (AFP) – Schalke coach Manuel Baum has compared his Bundesliga strugglers to a bottle of ketchup as he tries to tap their talent and end a 21-match winless streak in Germany’s top flight on Friday.
“We’re like a new ketchup bottle that you have to tap again after opening to get something out – we’re still tapping,” said Baum.
Second-from-bottom Schalke’s winless run stretches back to January.
Baum took over after David Wagner was sacked in the wake of September’s 8-0 thrashing at Bayern Munich, but results have failed to improve.
Schalke crashed 3-0 at Dortmund last weekend and Baum desperately needs a win to drag them out of the relegation spots.
“Stuttgart is an opponent against whom we have a better chance of winning,” said Baum even though mid-table Stuttgart are undefeated in their last five games.
“We have to show more than we did in Dortmund, where we brought little or nothing to the pitch in attack,” he admitted after Schalke barely managed a shot on goal.
Striker Mark Uth could return after a leg injury and Wales forward Rabbi Matondo is under pressure after a poor display at Dortmund before Baum hauled him off after 71 minutes.
