Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has said Roberto Di Matteo's style "may not be the most attractive," but believes Schalke can grind out a Champions League victory against Real Madrid.
The two sides meet in the round of 16 on Wednesday, with the Royal Blues welcoming the European champions to the Veltins-Arena for the first leg.
And Choupo-Moting, 25, believes having former Chelsea boss Di Matteo in charge gives the Bundesliga team a chance of causing an upset.
The Italian, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012, has lifted Schalke from 11th to fourth in the Bundesliga since his appointment in October.
"He is a master tactician -- not just for what he's done with us, but for his results in general," he told AS.
"We realise that his style of playing may not be the most attractive and we want to play better.
"We're getting better as time goes by. There are plenty of Bundesliga teams who try and play attractive football and end up losing.
"I think the average fan wants to go home having seen his team win a game."
Choupo-Moting added: "We've been working hard. Madrid are not unbeatable. Everything and anything can happen and that's why football is so special."
The Cameroon international said Schalke would be aiming to keep the tie alive ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu, but would not be paying special attention to stopping Cristiano Ronaldo.
"We ideally don't want to draw or lose the home game," he said. "We need to focus on all Madrid players and not just single out any one individual."