Schalke coach Thomas Reis slams players after defeat at Hoffenheim

Reis was straightforward in addressing the 2-0 loss to Hoffenheim that sent his team to the bottom of the Bundesliga table.

He accused his players of lacking enthusiasm, making the fight for survival even more challenging.

"When you talk about the fight against relegation, I've only saw one team that was invested in it and that was Hoffenheim," Reis told German broadcaster DAZN.

"The first half was not worthy of a relegation battle. We were far too well-behaved in the first half. Hoffenheim got two yellow cards. We got none.

"We don't want to encourage the lads to foul, but you have to present yourself much more in the duels."

He added: "That was totally subpar today. We'll be working on that. Apart from keeper Ralf Fahrmann, no one really delivered today."

Schalke has a brief turnaround before playing Hertha BSC in another critical six-pointer on Friday. Schalke's survival hopes could be in jeopardy if they lose against another relegation rival.