Schalke 04 president Clemens Tonnies has backed newly-appointed coach Roberto Di Matteo to prove himself successful at the club.
The former Chelsea manager replaced Jens Keller in Gelsenkirchen last Tuesday after the latter led Schalke to 11th in the Bundesliga table this season.
Tonnies is convinced that the club have found the right man to succeed Keller, and praised sporting director Horst Heldt for identifying the 44-year-old Italian.
"He's got my full backing," he told Bild. "He was looking for a fantastic coach and he got one. It is all down to [Heldt] and he did a great job.
"It was looking increasingly unlikely that [Keller] was going to stay beyond the summer anyway.
"Given the latest matches, which we were no longer able to influence positively, we said that we had to [replace him] now."
Di Matteo will kick off his Schalke spell at home to Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
Shane Callaghan
