Slomka impressed by 'imperious' Schalke

FC Schalke 04 coach Mirko Slomka hailed his "imperious" side after a 3-1 victory against Rosenborg BK in Gelsenkirchen sent the Bundesliga outfit through to the last 16. The result was all the more impressive considering the decision on the eve of the game to suspend Ivan Rakitić, Mladen Krstajić and Jermaine Jones for a breach of club discipline. Trond Henriksen admitted it was just not his Rosenborg side's day, refusing to apportion any of the blame to a lack of matches with the Norwegian league having ended.

Mirko Slomka, Schalke coach
I am delighted with the result, the game and our progress. We performed impressively in the first half, scored thrilling goals and made fine combinations. It was important we scored the second right after the first and their goal did not knock us off our stride. Rosenborg were good when they scored but we rode the storm and secured the win imperiously. The fantastic reaction after the game showed how we are all united. I was really impressed by that. I think the people working for the club are longing for Schalke to be a constant presence in international competition.

We made the decision after training yesterday that the three would be expelled from the squad. This morning I emphasised that they had done silly things and they had to be punished. The team responded tremendously. Tomorrow we will decide what will happen to them, together with the manager and the captain, but tonight we will celebrate our achievement. With the win the silly things are not forgotten but the way they behaved with their team-mates before, during and after the match should be noted – that was the stuff of role models.

Trond Henriksen, Rosenborg coach
It was difficult right from the start. We were controlling Schalke until we were punished after a silly mistake following a free-kick. Then we conceded another stupid goal and though we came back into the game after our goal, we soon conceded yet another easy goal. Schalke were not at 100 per cent but we were not good enough so in the end it is our fault we did not go through. Obviously, it would be an advantage to have match practice and be involved in the league, maybe a preparation match would have been good, but I get the feeling that it would not have changed anything. All the best for Schalke in the Champions League.