‘Use Everything To Develop’ - Van Nistelrooy Ahead Of Hammers Bout

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‘Use Everything To Develop’ - Van Nistelrooy Ahead Of Hammers Bout

Ruud van Nistelrooy is looking forward to putting ideas into practice and seeing his squad out on the pitch for the first time as Leicester City prepare to face West Ham United.

2024-12-03T07:00+00:00

by Sam Jones

Published

03 Dec, 2024

‘Use Everything To Develop’ - Van Nistelrooy Ahead Of Hammers Bout

Ruud van Nistelrooy is looking forward to putting ideas into practice and seeing his squad out on the pitch for the first time as Leicester City prepare to face West Ham United.

Sam Jones

2024-12-03T07:00+00:00

‘Use Everything To Develop’ - Van Nistelrooy Ahead Of Hammers Bout

Ruud van Nistelrooy is looking forward to putting ideas into practice and seeing his squad out on the pitch for the first time as Leicester City prepare to face West Ham United.

Sam Jones

2024-12-03T07:00+00:00

‘Use Everything To Develop’ - Van Nistelrooy Ahead Of Hammers Bout

Ruud van Nistelrooy is looking forward to putting ideas into practice and seeing his squad out on the pitch for the first time as Leicester City prepare to face West Ham United.

Sam Jones

2024-12-03T07:00+00:00

‘Use Everything To Develop’ - Van Nistelrooy Ahead Of Hammers Bout

Ruud van Nistelrooy is looking forward to putting ideas into practice and seeing his squad out on the pitch for the first time as Leicester City prepare to face West Ham United.

Sam Jones

2024-12-03T07:00+00:00

It has been a quick turnaround for the new City Manager, who watched on from the stands at Brentford last weekend after being in post since Friday. Having now taken two training sessions in Seagrave, the Dutchman will be in the dugout at King Power Stadium when the Hammers arrive for Tuesday’s 8:15pm GMT kick-off.

‘A decision that felt really good’

Sitting down with reporters at LCFC Training Ground.

Speaking to the assembled media on Monday afternoon, van Nistelrooy was keen to outline why the job was such an attractive proposition, and also what he has learned from his previous coaching experience, both in the Premier League with Manchester United, and in his native Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven.

“It was four games (at Man Utd) and I’ve managed a full season at PSV and won the cup and the charity shield,” the 48-year-old explained. “And the year before, in the Championship with Jong PSV. I’ve been in coaching with the national team, too.

“I was able to make a decision that felt really good for me, and now I’m here. Everyone tells you about how good the facilities are here but when you come and see it with your own eyes, it’s hard to believe.

“A year ago, I was in Madrid meeting [Carlo] Ancelotti, and being with him and the facilities over there, if you change the logos, it’s similar. It’s fantastic and it’s an opportunity here for young players, and all the players, to use everything possible to develop, to get better and to become better players. And in the end, that’s what it’s about.

“For me, it’s important that I know how things are planned and managed in the near-future but also in the little-bit-longer future. What is most important is the current squad and for me to really get a good assessment over the coming weeks leading into the January window to make those assessments by giving every player the chance.”

‘There is a lot of detail’

Getting to work.

Despite the limited time on the training pitch to get his ideas across to the players, van Nistelrooy is very clear on his planned approach and how he is looking to set the team up, illustrating the defensive structures which he believes will be a key pillar to any successes that Leicester enjoy this season.

“It manifests in meetings and drills on the training pitch,” the former Man Utd forward continued. “Yesterday and today, a topic of discussion has been how the back four can play together with the midfield sixes in front.

“There’s a lot of detail in there: how high is the line? What are the body positions? Who is running and who is following who when midfielders run in behind?

“We’ve just started to share that with the players and then today was the first time that we’ve had the whole group together and we’ve managed to do unit work with the defenders and the defensive midfield players.

“The structure off the ball is a 4-4-2 where we’re looking to put pressure on opponents using different formations within that. But the basic structure is a 4-4-2. On the ball, there is a 3-4-3 that I liked to use at PSV and also at United we were developing that.

“It’s something that has been very well developed here when Enzo [Maresca] came. That was obviously in the Championship, being much more dominant and having much more possession than in the Premier League, but it’s still structures and profiles of players that fit into those structures, and that’s the most important thing for me.

“I see that as an advantage, that I’m coming here used to working in and developing these structures and being able to translate it into the training pitch with exercises and drills. My sides, I’m thinking of one thing before I prepare for a game, and that’s winning it.”

‘He is still producing’

The 37-year-old played 64 minutes on Saturday.

Asked about talismanic forward Jamie Vardy, who broke van Nistelrooy’s Premier League record by scoring in 11 consecutive top-flight games back in November 2015, the new Manager was full of praise for the Foxes captain, who continues to find the net on a regular basis, scoring four so far in 2024/25, as well as contributing two assists.

“I told him it’s a problem that he broke my record,” he joked. “That was the first thing I actually said to him, I think I just beat him to it commenting on it. Back in the day, I made a tweet about breaking the record and wishing him well. And then nine years later to the day [I came here]. It’s weird that it happened but a good story.

“He’s somebody who has had a career for a long time and has been performing in all these seasons. He’s been fit all along and he’s been helping all the teams that he’s played for at this Club, because he’s been playing for so long. He still is producing, and I think he’s a great striker and it’s great to have him in the squad.”

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