Van Nistelrooy seeks improvements despite opening win with Leicester

Ruud van Nistelrooy acknowledged his new Leicester City side must improve to compete in a 'brutal' Premier League, despite Tuesday's 3-1 win over West Ham.

Jamie Vardy opened the scoring just two minutes into Van Nistelrooy's first game in charge of the Foxes, adding a second from Bilal El Khannouss just after the hour mark.

Patson Daka's late finish ensured the Dutchman would open with victory at the King Power Stadium, with Niclas Fullkrug providing an injury-time consolation for the struggling visitors.

However, West Ham dominated much of the match and Van Nistelrooy admitted his side still had to strive for improvements in the future.

“I said after the match that they have adopted some new ideas such as the 4-4-2 formation and that they are very compact and together,” the former striker said on Amazon Prime.

“Winning our matches and playing the ball. I think we have the profiles to recover the ball and play forward.

“If we want to get a breather we need to get possession on a more consistent basis, if not we will be put under pressure.”

Ruud behind the wheel pic.twitter.com/eVgIwWAcYw

— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 3, 2024

West Ham scored a total of 31 shots, the most ever in the Premier League since Opta data in 2003-04, and scored a remarkable 3.09 expected goals (xG).

That illustrates just how poor the Hammers' finishing was, and Van Nistelrooy knows similar tests will follow as he tries to keep Leicester in the division.

“We know the Premier League is ruthless. We know what our job is,” he added. “We also know how much possession and how many shots West Ham had.

“We know how tough the Premier League is and we saw that with the West Ham team we had to give everything for the three points.

“In the long term we know that performance needs to improve and that is something we have to continue with. The 3-0 was a relief.”

Leicester City 3-1West Ham

Ruud van Nistelrooy's career as a manager in the Premier League starts with a win, but things could have been different had West Ham found some form in front of goal.

The Hammers converted just one of their 31 shots (3.2%) on the night. pic.twitter.com/L5cr9Z6vXO

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) December 3, 2024

Julen Lopetegui was understandably frustrated after his side missed a plethora of chances.

“It's frustrating because I think we deserved a lot more,” the West Ham boss told Amazon Prime. “It's hard to say this when you lose 3-1, but it's true.

“Normally you have to win this game, but we didn't score when we should and we suffered after the first goal.

“Football is about goals. It's a difficult day for us. Maybe we should remember this match as a way to build for the next matches.

“I'm very frustrated, but [on Wednesday] we are looking for the next challenge, knowing that we can change the next situation.

“She [the players] I want to win for them, for me, for the club.”