No Christmas cheer from Schalke´s disgusted Magath

Schalke 04’s disciplinarian coach Felix Magath showed his displeasure at his side’s 5-0 hammering by Kaiserslautern Saturday by shortening his players’ Christmas break to just six days.

The 57-year-old — whose training regime was described by former Schalke players as being like a boot camp — has yet to decide whether the players’ training camp prior to the resumption of the Bundesliga season after the winter break will take place in the sunnier climes of Turkey or Portugal.

The former Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg coach said he would only decide after seeing how his players perform in the three matches prior to the winter break.

However, he was adamant that his squad — who number among them Spanish icon Raul and Dutch star Klaas-Jan Huntelaar — would only be free from after the Cup match with Second Division Augsburg on December 21 till the 27th.

The Kaiserslautern defeat, the club’s worst since September 1992, left Schalke 15th in the table just two points above the relegation places.

“Such a debacle requires punishment,” said Magath.

“There are too many players who lend too much importance to the Champions League (they reached the last 16 in midweek) and don’t understand that the Bundesliga is our daily bread and we must play equally as well in that.”

Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said that memories of their impressive 3-0 victory over Lyon in the Champions League group match last Wednesday, which booked their passage into the last 16, had faded.

“We begin each time from zero, there is nothing positive remaining from our victory against Lyon,” said Neuer.