Croatia boss Slaven Bilic told German tabloid Bild that he was approached by Schalke ’04 with a job prospect, but the ex-West Ham United defender turned down the offer to concentrate on his national side.
The young but talented coach was approached by the bosses of the German outfit at the weekend in an attempt to reserve his services for the rest of the season at Schalke. Bilic was flattered by the request, but told the Schalke bosses that they would have to find a different replacement for Fred Rutten, who was sacked last Thursday.
“The people from Schalke were in Zagreb on Sunday and we spoke,” revealed the Croat.
“It is a huge honour for me to be considered a candidate with such a big club.
“I thanked them and repeated that I just want to focus on the Croatia national team at the moment.”
Stephen Crawford, Goal.com