Schalke captain Benedikt Howedes has praised the work already done by new coach Roberto Di Matteo, while revealing that he is the Italian's "extension on the pitch."
One week into Di Matteo's reign at the club, and the interest in the former Chelsea manager from the German media has still yet to subside.
On Saturday, he will take his place in the dugout at the Veltins-Arena for the first time for the Bundesliga clash against Hertha Berlin.
The fixture will also see the return of Howedes, who has been sidelined with a muscle injury since mid-September.
"I am the coaching staff's extension on the pitch," Howedes told Der Westen. "Di Matteo has huge charisma, and has the clear goal of returning to the path of success."
Howedes praised Di Matteo for the instant impact he has made at the club and also for his commitment on the training pitch.
"When I arrive at the training ground, everything's already prepared for training," he said. "And furthermore, we've covered a lot of areas in that short time."
Despite picking up just eight points from their first seven games, Howedes -- like Di Matteo -- is sure the club can still qualify for next season's Champions League.
"That's where we belong," he said.
Following the club's bad start to the season, Schalke decided to sack Jens Keller -- who was under contract until 2015 -- earlier this month.
"It became more and more evident that we'd have to make changes in the summer of 2015 at the latest," Schalke president Clemens Tonnies told Sport Bild Plus.
Tonnies added that "the recent developments which we were no longer able to influence" made the managerial change unavoidable.