Wagner remains as Schalke head coach

BERLIN - David Wagner will remain as Schalke head coach after a team-record 16 games without a win, confirmed on Wednesday at the Bundesliga side's end-of-season news conference.

"We are continuing with our coaching team. I have full faith in our coaching team," the club's sports director Jochen Schneider said at the conference.

Schalke started with a strong first half in the past season after Wagner took over the club, but suffered a record-high 16 games without a win after the winter break, with the team slumping from fifth to 12th.

"We played a season with two different teams, even though they were both called Schalke. But I am responsible for both phases," Wagner said.

The team that almost being relegated last year appears approaching the European berth in the 2019-20 season's 'first phase,' but Schalke will cease its return to European action next season due to the financial distress, confirmed at the same conference.

"The sporting goals must be adjusted for the next one, two, three years," Schalke's marketing chief Alexander Jobst stated.

The Bundesliga side reported nearly 200 million euros debts 12 months ago, which has even worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're spending more than we're bringing in as a club, so we need to start reducing our expenditure in order to ensure a secure future for the club," Jobst said.