Schalke's gamble of changing the coach midway through the season paid off as they secured their pre-season expectations of Champions League qualification next campaign. After finishing third last time around, Schalke hoped to challenge for the Bundesliga title and started the season on a positive note, losing just once in their opening nine games to climb to second in the league table. However a disappointing defeat to Bayer Leverkusen triggered a poor run of form that saw Schalke collect just two points from their next six games. Coach Huub Stevens was not helped by the growing injury crisis with a number of players suffering long term injuries. Schalke's defeat to SC Freiburg saw them slip down to seventh in the league table, prompting the board to sack Stevens and handed the temporary charge of the club to Jens Keller. Though the appointment did not prove to be a success at the start, with Schalke being dumped out of the DFB Cup and suffering back to back defeats to Greuther Furth and Bayern Munchen, Keller slowly got the team back on track with Schalke going on a run of five wins from six games to climb up to fourth in the league table. However, a defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt meant that Schalke were left with needing to beat SC Freiburg in what proved to be a play-off match for Champions League qualification and Keller's side did just that by securing a narrow victory on the final day of the season. Schalke's good run of form in the final weeks of the campaign was largely due to Julian Draxler who took over the mantle of becoming the creative outlet of the side following the departure of Lewis Holtby to Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window. Draxler has pledged his future with the club by signing a new long term contract and with Keller being handed the job on a permanent basis, the Schalke coach will be optimistic that his side can finally emerge as serious title contenders next season.
