Ruud van Nistelrooy has stressed he will prioritise results over style in his bid to pull Leicester City clear of relegation trouble, with the Dutchman insisting he is not “the romantic type of manager”.
Van Nistelrooy said he was “astonished” by the reaction to his impressive spell in interim charge of Manchester United, which prompted job offers both in England and abroad. Van Nistelrooy took charge of four United games after Erik ten Hag was sacked, winning three, two of which were against Leicester, one in the English League Cup.
“It was a good period, short and intense, but I was happy to help, to steady the ship,” said the former United striker. “I really enjoyed creating a connection with the team, with the supporters and turning the momentum for the club for a little bit. That is our job and that felt great to do and it just got better – now I am in the position to do it again.”
Van Nistelrooy, who has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Leicester, takes charge of his new side for the first time at home to West Ham on Tuesday. Van Nistelrooy took training for the first time on Sunday, hours after watching their 4-1 defeat at Brentford from the stands in west London.
The 2015-16 champions currently sit 16th, one point above the relegation zone. Van Nistelrooy twice flew into London to hold talks with Leicester’s chairman, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, and the club’s director of football, Jon Rudkin, to discuss the job, his first number one post since leaving PSV at the end of 2022-23.
Asked about what supporters can expect from Leicester under his leadership, Van Nistelrooy replied: “I’m thinking of one thing before any game I prepare, and that’s winning. When you play top teams in the Premier League, mid-table teams or lower-ranked teams, it sometimes requires a different approach. The style of play is adjusted on: ‘How can we win here?’ I’m not the romantic type of manager who puts style in front of results.
“I love style, I love having the ball, I love creating lots of opportunities, pressing a team high, because you have more of the ball, but we are facing opponents here and we’re not the dominant side in this league. We approach every game in this league to win.”
Van Nistelrooy will manage Jamie Vardy, who broke his goalscoring record in 2015 when he became the first player to score in 11 successive Premier League matches. “It’s a problem, of course, that he broke my record … I told him straightaway, ‘we have a big issue we need to get out of the way before we can even start together,’” Van Nistelrooy joked. “I think I beat him to it. Back in the day I made a tweet about breaking the record and wishing him well and then nine years later I am here. It’s weird how things go sometimes.” — Guardian
