Schalke coach Markus Weinzierl insists his side's clash with Borussia Monchengladbach will not determine his future, even if a defeat would compound the worst start to a season in the club's history.
The Royal Blues have lost their first five games of the season, but they can take heart from the performance of their next opponents, who started last year with five straight losses but still climbed to finish third in the Bundesliga table, thus qualifying for the Champions League.
A sixth straight defeat would make it harder to replicate Gladbach's rise, but Weinzierl says it would not be the end of the world either.
"Of course we want to reach our objectives and we need points as quickly as possible," the former Augsburg coach told Sport1 after his side made it two wins out of two in the Europa League by beating Red Bull Salzburg.
"We don't have any points yet so we need to get some, but even if it goes wrong, things still go on.
"It's just a pity that the points here (in the Europa League) don't get added on in the Bundesliga."
Schalke are not the only big-name Bundesliga club suffering a stuttering start to the season, with Hamburg and Werder Bremen also needing first wins.
Hamburg head to high-flying Hertha Berlin on Saturday with Markus Gisdol sitting on their bench for the first time since replacing the sacked Bruno Labbadia.
Bremen have also changed their coach, although they have yet to appoint a permanent replacement for Viktor Skripnik, meaning Alexander Nouri will once again be on the touchline for their trip to Darmstadt on Saturday.
At the top of the table, Bayern Munich's eight-game winning start to the season in all competitions was brought to an end by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and they will be keen to extend their 100 per cent record in the Bundesliga when they host second-placed and unbeaten Cologne.
In Saturday evening's big match, two of Germany's Champions League participants - Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund - meet at the BayArena.
Elsewhere, struggling Ingolstadt will be looking for their first win of the season when they host Hoffenheim, while Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt can build on solid starts with their clash in the Black Forest.
Sunday's other game sees Wolfsburg and Mainz lock horns at the VW-Arena.
Source: PA-WIRE
