DFPlayer Mini with analog volume control

Hoping for a little help or suggestions. I'm working on a Alarm clock/MP3 player. My project is working great, however I want to control the volume on the user interface. I understand the DFPlayer has 2 pins for volume control (IO1 and IO2) that uses button presses to increase or decrease the volume.

Currently I have the DFPlayer connected to a Arduino mega, and I am controlling the volume by code. I would prefer to use a potentiometer other than using the push buttons. Can this be done using the DFPlayer. I have read through the datasheet and the dfrobot website and still a bit uncertain if I can make this work without adding in an additional amplifier module that has a build in potentiometer.

I would appreciate any helpful feedback or suggestions.

Details on the DFPlayer found here: https://wiki.dfrobot.com/DFPlayer_Mini_SKU_DFR0299