Markus Babbel admitted he feels like he is preparing to make his professional debut after taking the reins of Stuttgart this week.
The former Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers defender became the coach of Stuttgart when Armin Veh was sacked following a 4-1 defeat to Wolfsburg on Saturday and he has admitted to having nerves.
"It is like preparing for my first Bundesliga match," he said.
"I am glad that the club feels I am ready for this role and trusts me with it. That shows that the job I have done in recent years has not been all that bad.
"I have been able to learn a lot from Armin Veh and Alfons Higl."
The 36-year-old hung up his boots last year and has worked under the previous coaching team, also assisting his new co-trainer Rainer Widmayer in charge of the club's reserve team.
He is well known at the Swabian club and was part of the squad which won the Bundesliga title in 2007.
"I know the team well and know that their character is fine," he added.
"I will certainly talk a lot with the players in the coming days to see where the problems lie.
"The decisive thing will be that we return to being a compact team and get back to being successful this way.
"The belief and the will to win has got to return. I am convinced that we will succeed in doing that."
Babbel led his first training session yesterday and planned a further two today.
He only has three days to prepare his team for a crucial UEFA Cup tie at Sampdoria where his side needs to avoid defeat to maintain their chance of proceeding to the third round.
"We will train two times tomorrow because we don't have much time before the next game," he said.
"We have got to get things sorted on the field. I want the players to learn my philosophy as soon as possible.
"VfB has always been an attacking team and that is what we want to work on.
"We are in a difficult moment, but the potential is there. I and my coaching team have got to turn things around.
"We are starting from zero all over again."
General manager Horst Heldt confirmed that Veh had been dismissed due to a difference of opinion following his side's fifth game without a win.
"I spoke with Armin Veh about the defeat for a good three hours, just us two," he explained.
"We analyzed the situation. We agreed on a few things, but had a different opinion on others.
"The points we disagreed on were decisive."
And it did not take Heldt long to realize that Babbel was the right man to take over.
"Markus knows the team. He has worked as an assistant coach here and I know Rainer Widmayer from my time here as a player," he added.
"He was always very reliable and has worked recently alongside Krassimir Balakov. I called him last night and he will join us this morning.
"We needed a new impulse with five important games left this year and we are convinced we have made the right decision."
Stuttgart lie 11th in the Bundesliga, 13 point adrift of leaders Hoffenheim.
After facing Sampdoria on Thursday, they play Schalke, Cottbus and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga before ending the year with a home game against Standard Liege in the UEFA Cup.
