Ruud van Nistelrooy: Leicester City boss ‘astonished’ at interest levels after four-game interim spell at Man Utd

Ruud van Nistelrooy said he was “surprised” by the interest in him following his interim spell as Manchester United boss, which he believes helped him secure the role of Leicester manager.

The 48-year-old was appointed as Steve Cooper's successor on Saturday, just 20 days after he left Old Trafford following the arrival of Ruben Amorim as permanent head coach.

Van Nistelrooy took charge of just four games following Erik ten Hag's dismissal, but said he was surprised by the opportunities this presented upon his departure, having previously won silverware as PSV manager, twice on the coaching staff van Nederland was enjoying a successful period in charge of PSV's U19 team.

“What happened after the Games, the amount of interest that was suddenly there, the options that opened up, I was amazed,” he said.

“I thought: 'It was four games and I spent a whole season with PSV'. With Jong PSV we also won the Cup, the Charity Shield and the championship.

“It never got this reaction from the football world. Apparently it provoked this reaction and I was only happy with that. To enter into discussions with different parties and to be in a position that felt very good to me. Now I me here.”

Van Nistelrooy revealed he took inspiration from his time at Manchester United to help determine whether he should take on the vacant role at Leicester, following discussions with his former teammate and friend Enzo Maresca, who coached the Foxes to the Championship title last season .

The two played together in the twilight of Van Nistelrooy's career at Malaga in 2011/2012 and have remained close ever since. But their first discussions about the club started before the job became available.

Van Nistelrooy said: “When the first approach came I thought about the club, the players, the training ground and the set-up. I was curious about the people who worked there.

“Enzo is a great friend and teammate was one of the first to call. What better information could I get?

“When we played against each other when I was interim manager [at Man Utd] We spoke for half an hour against Chelsea, even though I didn't know Leicester at the time.

“He was very positive at the time and it only got better when I spoke to him again. From the first impressions I got, he was absolutely right.”

Leicester's hierarchy has given Van Nistelrooy a clear, 'challenging' target to maintain the club's status in the Premier League, he added, saying he was open to how the January transfer window will be approached with six games to play before they can enter the transfer window. market.

“That was a topic of discussion,” he said. “The two conversations I had were very open and clear. For me it was important to know what the situation will be in the near future, but also in the longer term.

“January was discussed, but what was also discussed was the current squad. The most important thing for me is to get an assessment of the players in the coming weeks leading up to January and to give every player the opportunity.

“Also the staff members who stay, I work with the people who are still at the club. I want to bring in more people, but I also want to work with them. We can decide from there.” .”