The German coach was in telling mood when he sat down with AS and talked about the current state of affair at Real Madrid and spoke about a number of issues.
One of them was which player will replaced Diarrá during his appearance at the forthcoming African Cup of Nations and Schuster had an immediate answer.
"I have a few options, but I think Gago has earned the role," he explained. "He's worked hard and is the player most similar to Diarra, although he's got less physical strength. For as much as Diarra is criticised, he is a brick wall.
"Gago offers more creativity and passing, which always works in our favor. No matter what is said, we will miss Diarra this month and his absence is more important than it looks.
"Fortunately we have alternatives thanks to the depth on this squad. In front of Gago I have Baptista, Sneijder, and Guti. I can alternate between the three and make three different pairs. All of them will play at some point, and nobody should have a problem with it."
The Madrid boss then admitted that he believes he made the right decision not to off-load Robinho following his alleged exploits at the Rio Carnival after a Brazil international.
"I had two options;" Schuster continued. "I could have gotten rid of him after the 'camisinhas' (condoms) episode, which is what many wanted, but he would have never overcome it.
"I was a naughty player and I know what goes through a footballer's head. I told him I believed in him and that he had to respond by playing football. The kid has done just that. He's dazzled us."
Schuster then stated that he has confidence in Marcelo, but the Brazilian is just filling in until his preferred defensive quartet is available again.
"In my Plan A I had Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, and Heinze in defense, but I couldn't play them all together until Camp Nou because of injuries," he continued.
"It was just bad luck, not a change in plans. It's the best quartet in Europe right now. I have faith in Marcelo, but he's still young and has a lot to learn.
"I like him, but he knows he needs more experience and he understands that Heinze will likely play ahead of him. That's why his injury hurt us, although Marcelo has improved and is on the right track."
AS then suggested that Schuster's unwillingness to bring through youth team players at Madrid was because he did not know any of the youngsters.
"That's not true," he hit back. "Castilla being relegated to Second Division B was a huge setback because it's hard for 18 to 20-year olds to skip two flights."
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