Metzelder talks up Schalke offensive

Schalke defender Christoph Metzelder said his side will ‘attack the top’ in a bid to prove their Bundesliga title credentials.

While Schalke have only welcomed a new manager to the helm – with the hiring of Huub Stevens last Thursday – Metzelder believes his side has the morale to ride out the change through positive results.

The Gelsenkirchen club performed above expectations to reach the semi-finals of the 2010/11 Champions League and won the DFB Pokal final in May.

But Schalke faltered in the Bundesliga, with Felix Magath sacked and replaced by Ralf Rangnick on the way to a 14th-placed finish.

However, Saturday’s 2-1 league win away at Hamburg – Schalke’s third successive victory in all competitions – has Metzelder hopeful that his side’s inconsistencies are behind them.

“I mentioned before the game that it’d give an indication for the upcoming weeks, whether we can attack the top of the table or play in the mid-table,” he said.

“I think in the next few games we will attack the top.”

“I think we have some space to work with, even after the change of the last weeks. We are not that stable, but we showed during the season that morale has returned after defeats.”

“We fought a lot to win the games, when we improve our play I am convinced, and then we have a good structure.”

Dutchman Stevens has returned to the club after a nine-year absence after Rangnick resigned due to health issues, having led Schalke to a UEFA Cup title and a DFB Pokal victory between 1996 and 2002.

Metzelder is confident the new manager can quickly re-settle at the club: “He took himself back, learnt a lot from the assistant manager, he observed a lot and I think he will use the time to talk to every player to get to know the squad better,” he said.

“After a while we will see what he is like as a manager. For him and for us victories in the transition times are important.”

Schalke’s victory over Hamburg moved them fourth on the Bundesliga title, just four points adrift from leaders and bitter rivals Bayern Munich.