Schalke part ways with Geraerts, Wilmots

A 42-year-old Genk native, Geraerts took up the reins at Schalke last October and led the side to a mid-table finish in the German second tier. The ex-Belgium international then started the current campaign with an impressive 5-1 win against Eintracht Braunschweig. However, four defeats in five Bundesliga 2 games - including Friday's 5-3 reverse against Darmstadt in a game Schalke had led 3-0 - since then have left The Miners languishing in the bottom half of the standings. 

In a statement released by the club, Sachalke CEO Matthias Tillmann said, “The board’s decision not to continue on this journey with Karel Geraerts is not based on the lack of results and the defeat against Darmstadt alone, but more so on the negative total development over the past few weeks. Tactically, and from a footballing perspective, we haven’t taken the necessary step, neither as a team nor with regards to individual players. As a result, we are stuck near the bottom of the table after a third of the first half of the season.

Schalke's U23 coach Jakob Fimpel will take charge of first-team affairs until the forthcoming international break. Along with Geraerts, Schalke announced that sporting director Marc Wilmots has also been let go.