Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Struggling Bundesliga club Energie Cottbus is to repay fans the cost of their tickets after a 4-0 thrashing at Schalke 04 on Friday evening.

Around 600 fans who travelled to Gelsenkirchen for the match will get their money back from the players' kitty to compensate for the poor performance, the club said after the game.

"The real restitution will have to come in the next few matches," club general manager Steffen Heidrich said.

Heidrich bemoaned the lack of fight from the team which is in relegation danger, second to last in the league.

"You can only survive a relegation battle if you get into the tackles. That was completely lacking," he said. (dpa)