Sport
Ruud van Nistelrooy: Leicester appoint former Manchester United interim head coach as Steve Cooper replacement
Ruud van Nistelrooy has been appointed as the new manager of Leicester City.
Van Nistelrooy, who briefly took over as interim manager of Manchester United earlier this season, replaces Steve Cooper and has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at the King Power Stadium.
Ben Dawson will remain the Foxes' caretaker in Brentford on Saturday with Van Nistelrooy in the stands at the Gtech Community Stadium. The Dutchman's first match is on Tuesday against West Ham at home.
Speaking to LCFC.com, Van Nistelrooy said: “I'm proud, I'm excited. Everyone I speak to about Leicester City Football Club is enthusiastic.
“They have great stories about the quality of the people who work at the club, the supporters and of course the recent history of the club is impressive.
“I'm looking forward to getting started and getting to know everyone and giving everything I can to the football club.”
Van Nistelrooy had been exploring options to become No.1 and Sky Sports News understands he has had several offers from other European clubs.
Leicester had considered former Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg boss Niko Kovac and current West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberan as possible candidates but opted for Van Nistelrooy as they look to climb out of the relegation zone.
The decision was made by club owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha – known as 'Top' – who took personal responsibility for the appointment, while director of football Jon Rudkin drew up a list of candidates.
Srivaddhanaprabha told LCFC.com: “I am delighted to welcome Ruud to Leicester City. He joins a club with a rich history, passionate supporters and a talented squad, and we are all excited to see the impact he makes can have when we get on board.” together on this new chapter.
“Ruud's experience, knowledge and winning mentality will undoubtedly be of great value to us and we look forward to supporting him in achieving success for our fans and our club.”
Van Nistelrooy was appointed assistant manager at Manchester United this summer after being out of work since quitting as PSV boss before the end of the 2022/2023 season.
The 48-year-old became interim head coach when Erik ten Hag was sacked in October and signed off in style by beating Leicester 3-0 at Old Trafford, leaving him unbeaten in his four games in charge before the club confirmed his departure after the departure of Ruben Amorim. arrival.
Van Nistelrooy the coach: 'Attacking football is in his DNA'
In an interview with Sky Sports' Adam Bate earlier this year, Van Nistelrooy's former PSV assistant Javier Rabanal gave insight into his football philosophy.
“He can handle certain situations and manage them in the right way. He is someone who can manipulate the training sessions and knows when to push the group a little more and when to push the group less,” said Rabanal.
“I've met a lot of ex-pros. The typical ex-pro coaches, they try to reproduce what they learned. Some of them don't bring anything new and don't keep learning.
“But the top ones are open-minded people who learn new things. Whether it is technology or methodology, they are open to it – and Ruud is that kind of coach.
“Ruud is particularly good at dealing with young, talented players. He was important in the development of Xavi Simons at PSV and guided him in the right direction.
“When I worked with him he always had ideas on how to attack and that is something I am sure he will bring to the team. Attacking football is in his DNA and there will be a good game plan for scoring goals.” “
Why did Leicester sack Cooper?
Analysis by Danyal Khan and Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports News:
“Despite being in 16th place with 10 points from 12 games, the club believes this decision gives them the best chance of remaining in the Premier League.
“There is a feeling in the club's hierarchy that they could be higher than they are now; they have failed to beat Ipswich and Everton, with performance also becoming an increasing concern.
“It is clear that Cooper has tried to implement the style he wanted and make the changes he felt were necessary to improve things, but there was perceived to be resistance and disconnect from the players.
“It is said that this has increased concerns internally about safety in the Premier League, while it has also been clear that there has been a lack of connection between Cooper and the fans since he took charge in the summer.
“After promotion, Leicester spent less in the summer transfer market than the other two promoted sides and lost a key player in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea.
“Their highest spend was around £20 million on Oliver Skipp, while they signed Bobby Decordova-Reid on a free transfer and loaned two players from other Premier League clubs.
“The club have acted quickly compared to the 2022/23 season, when they only parted ways with Brendan Rodgers and replaced him with Dean Smith in April, before ultimately being relegated.”
