Van Nistelrooy’s Leicester appointment must have lower-league bosses fuming

If RUUD VAN NISTELROOY steps into the Leicester job, managers further down the league will have to pull their hair out.

For example, this week Stockport's Dave Challinor was named Manager of the Year at the Northwest Football Awards, ahead of Pep Guardiola.

That may be because organizers thought he was likely to turn up to get his gong, unlike Guardiola.

Still, two promotions in two-and-a-half years that extend the area's poor relationship from the National League to League One – where they sit fourth – is incredible.

But that and his managerial background at Colwyn Bay, AFC Fylde and Hartlepool were unfortunately never going to put him on the radar of a Premier League club.

That never happens.

Van Nistelrooy was on the Foxes' radar this summer after spending one season at PSV Eindhoven before they went for Steve Cooper.

Now after another four games as interim boss of Manchester United, he is at King Power and Cooper is out.

It's fair to say that Michael Carrick didn't do too badly after his three games as caretaker at Old Trafford in 2021.

He achieved two wins and a draw and was manager of Middlesbrough in October.

Big names excite fans and Van Nistelrooy literally has one.

At PSV he won the 2023 Dutch Cup and finished second in the league, but walked out amid a dispute with the board over a lack of support in the transfer market – an early red flag.

After a year away, he was part of Erik ten Hag's coaching team this summer, which oversaw the club's worst ever start to a Premier League season.

Then came those four games as a caretaker.

Coincidentally, the first was a 5-2 Carabao Cup win over Leicester.

Only it was the Foxes' second team as Cooper prioritized that weekend's relegation six-pointer at Ipswich, which they drew 1-1.

Van Nistelrooy followed up with a creditable 1-1 draw against Chelsea, a 2-0 win over PAOK in the Europa League and then a 3-0 win over – guess who? – Leicester again.

So not the most taxing run of games and that draw against Chelsea was an absolute shock of a game.

Yet he briefly lifted the club and the reception he received from the United faithful clearly struck a chord with the Foxes hierarchy watching from the boardroom.

That love-in had more to do with his 150 goals for the club at the time than with any managerial masterpiece.

However, in a time when image is everything, the Dutchman comes across very well.

Just look at how Lee Carsley was dismissed as a potential England boss because of the way he handled the media attention.

If Van Nistelrooy turned on the charm – as he did during his press conferences at United – during his interview for the Foxes job, you can see why he got it.

That's not to say the ex-striker, 48, won't do well as he draws on the experience of working with some of the greats.

Like the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, who he hurled a volley of abuse at when his boss failed to include him in the 2006 League Cup final. There is clearly a fiery side to the man.

Worryingly for the Foxes captains, the story goes that it was not just due to a lack of support from above that saw Van Nistelrooy leave PSV just before the end of the season.

Stories in the Netherlands claim that there was a player uprising behind the scenes…

Once all the paperwork is done, his first game as Foxes manager could be at Brentford on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Challinor, 49, will host Brackley in the FA Cup.

It seems that if he wants to make it at the top, he will have to do it with Stockport.