Ottmar Hitzfeld expects two of his former pupils to work together brilliantly at Stoke City.
Paul Lambert has a big task on his hands to keep Stoke City in the Premier League this season.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa manager was named as Mark Hughes’ successor on Monday after the Welshman’s four-and-a-half year tenure was ended with the Potters 18th in the table.
Lambert inherits a team which has the worst defensive record in the division, with 50 goals conceded in 23 matches, and whose attack is relying on 36-year-old Peter Crouch, with Saido Berahino still goalless in a year at the club.
One silver lining for the Scotsman will be the form of Xherdan Shaqiri, who has four goals and five assists this term.
Ottmar Hitzfeld, who managed Lambert at Borussia Dortmund, believes that the new Stoke boss is a “godsend” for Shaqiri, another one of his former pupils with the Swiss national team, and can take the winger to a new level.
“Paul has always been a team player and a role model in terms of performance and commitment,” Hitzeld, who won the Champions League twice – once with Dortmund and once with Bayern Munich during a glittering managerial career – told Swiss newspaper Blick, according to The Stoke Sentinel.
“And for Shaqiri, the new Stoke coach could be a godsend, as he does not need to fear his regular place. If Xherdan gives it his all, he’ll be in Paul’s top class.”
Stoke will hope that Hitzfeld’s insight is correct, as if Shaqiri raises his game and ends the season with 10 goals and assists apiece, the Potters stand a good chance of preserving their 10-year top-flight stay.
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