Felix Magath remains convinced Wolfsburg will still be in the Bundesliga next season despite a 1-0 defeat to his former club Schalke.
Not only is Magath optimistic about his side's final five games of the season, but he believes he can turn them back into the team they were under him in 2009, when they won the title, next year.
"Of course we will still be in the Bundesliga, and we will be in a far better position next season," he told ZDF television.
He now needs to ensure his team share his optimism while making sure they do not expect safety to just happen overnight.
The Wolves are now two points adrift of safety with five games of the season to go, including three relegation battles against St Pauli, Werder Bremen and Kaiserslautern.
"We now have a lot of hard work to do to make sure everybody realises the severity of the situation," added Magath.
"We deserved to lose today. We defended well, but we were harmless in attack.
"We did not put them under pressure and we never took the initiative."
Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick can now turn his attention to Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Inter Milan and the final of the DFB-Pokal after yesterday's win took the Royal Blues to a safe distance from the relegation zone.
"We no longer have any Bundesliga worries," he said.
"And I have just noticed while looking at the league table that we are only six points behind the top five. That's interesting."
