Ralf Rangnick admitted there was doubt among the players when he was hired as Austria's manager in 2022, but the 65-year-old German has led his team to the cusp of the Euro 2024 knockout rounds.
Austria, who face the Netherlands in their final Group D game, lost to France 1-0 but were impressive in a 3-1 win over Poland, only the second time they have scored three goals in a single European Championship finals game.
Their aggressive, front-foot style has also earned admirers.
"(Marko Arnautovic) and I recently talked about it ourselves," Rangnick said of Austria's all-time leading scorer with 36 goals who was sitting alongside at a news conference on Monday.
"When Marko heard that I'd become boss here, he thought 'ooh, this might be a bit tight now', but I didn't see it like that. I didn't quite understand why it was seen like that.
"He (Arnautovic) played from the start against Poland and possibly tomorrow as well in such an important game."
The Dutch lead the group on four points, ahead of France on goals scored, with Austria third.
Defender Gernot Trauner will not be available due to injury.
"He didn't train today, he's definitely out for tomorrow," Rangnick said. "And even in the next game, he won't be able to play probably. I'm really sorry for him, because has been in top form so far, both in training and in the games."
Rangnick expects a stiff challenge from the Dutch, but he knows what to expect.
"It feels like the Netherlands have played the same way since (legendary Dutch player) Johan Cruyff's days," Rangnick said. "A lot of width and a lot of height on the pitch. Who wins the second ball will be crucial."
Rangnick said he grew up idolising Cruyff, a three-times Ballon d'Or winner and big proponent of the Total Football philosophy.
"I once asked my coach to play in (Cruyff's) number 14 shirt," Rangnick said. "Back then it was unusual because you only used to have the numbers between one and 11. Similar to Franz Beckenbauer, Cruyff was someone who had a huge influence on the development of football, not just in his own country."
Rangnick was interim manager of Manchester United in 2021-22 before leaving to take over an Austrian side stinging from missing out on qualification for that year's World Cup.
An impressive Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, however, in which they finished a point behind Belgium in their group with 19 points from eight games, made them dark horses in Germany and they have so far not disappointed.
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk said he understands the criticism of his team and agreed with some of the sentiments despite the Dutch picking up four points out of a possible six in Group D.
The Dutch edged Poland 2-1 in their opening game in Hamburg and were fortunate not to lose to a wasteful France in their second match in Leipzig, escaping with a 0-0 draw.
"Against Poland we played well for 60 minutes and created many chances," Van Dijk told reporters. "But we were also under pressure. Against France we were more compact as a team.
"Keeping a clean sheet against the World Cup runners-up is good. But in possession of the ball, we were very poor."
Striker Wout Weghorst is still hoping to make it into the starting line-up even if he has developed a reputation as the team's super sub.
Weghorst came off the bench to sweep home the winner for the Dutch in their opening Group D match against Poland in Hamburg, reprising his stunning entry at the World Cup in Qatar 18 months ago when he scored twice in the last 10 minutes against Argentina to force their quarter-final into extra time and eventually a penalty shoot-out.
But the 31-year-old believes he has more to contribute to the Dutch side even if coach Ronald Koeman told him before the tournament in Germany that he would be used an impact player off the bench.
"A starting berth is what you ultimately want," Weghorst told a press conference.
"That is my goal. I believe strongly that I can be important for this Dutch team. I have qualities to make this team better."
After a tepid showing from the attack in their second game against France in Leipzig on Friday, Weghorst might well get a chance against Austria in Berlin.
"We beat them at the previous European Championship (in Amsterdam) and took the three points, but they have certainly improved since then," he said of their upcoming opponents, who are one point behind the Netherlands in the group standings.
France will try to finally get the goals flowing against already eliminated Poland as they seek to finish top of their group, but questions remain about the availability of key forward Kylian Mbappe.
The striker - who broke his nose in France's opener against Austria - donned a mask to take part in a practice match on Saturday against the under-21 side of German club Paderborn in which he scored twice and set up two other goals.
France have so far failed to find the net themselves in Germany - they beat Austria in their opener courtesy of an own goal and drew 0-0 with the Netherlands - so coach Didier Deschamps will be tempted to bring Mbappe back against Poland.
Netherlands sit top of Group D, having scored more goals than the French. The group winners will face the second-placed team in Group F, a spot held now by Turkey, while the runners-up will face whoever comes second in Group E where Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine are all on three points.
Should France finish in third place, they could face England or Spain in the last 16.
On paper, Poland look like easy opponents for France, but Poland coach Michal Probierz has said he wants to use the France match to draw a line under his side's disappointing form and get them ready for their World Cup qualifiers.
Mbappe sat out the 0-0 draw with the Netherlands which left Deschamps ruing France's failure to turn opportunities into goals. "The only regret I have, regarding the number of chances we saw, is the fact that we didn't win," he told reporters.
The last time the two countries met, France cruised past Poland in a last-16 match at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 with Mbappe scoring twice in a 3-1 win.
The game at the Dortmund BVB Stadion may mark the end of the international career of Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny who has said his time with the national team is coming to a close.
Captain Robert Lewandowski, who has appeared only fleetingly so far in Germany due to an injury, will probably be taking his European Championship bow at the age of 35.
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