Ruud van Nistelrooy’s whirlwind start to life at Leicester City sees him take charge of his first game just two days after his maiden visit to the training ground.
In between, he sat down with the media for the first time. Here are nine things we learned from the Dutchman’s first press conference at Seagrave.
Delivered with authority
After years at the top of the game, van Nistelrooy is not new to the limelight. He’s clearly comfortable in it. He delivered his maiden press conference with an impressive air of authority, where every question was answered confidently and succinctly. There were no wasted words.
Speaking to the players in a similar fashion should quickly earn respect from the squad. He portrays a manager who knows exactly what he wants and it would not seem wise for a player to not get on board straight away.
One joke but otherwise all business
Had this been in the summer, there perhaps would have been more room for a little light-heartedness. But with City in a relegation battle and a game just around the corner, there was no room for wisecracking.
Van Nistelrooy gave a playful answer to the inevitable question over Jamie Vardy beating his Premier League goalscoring streak nine years ago, but otherwise it was all serious. City’s predicament needs it to be.
Tactical clarity from the off
Some managers, when asked questions about their tactics, don’t give a straight answer. Sometimes it’s because they don’t want to give the game away. Sometimes it’s because they don’t want to answer in a way that may invoke confusion, which is not the best image to portray.
Asked for his philosophy, van Nistelrooy set out a very clear answer, discussing off-the-ball structures and a three-box-three formation. There was no wavering.
The back five experiment won’t last
In that case, the back-five experiment from Brentford looks like being dispensed with after one outing. Asked about defensive organisation, van Nistelrooy spoke at length about the “back four”, as if there would be no consideration of an alternative defensive shape.
Romanticism does not trump winning
Both on Friday when he was announced as manager and at his press conference, van Nistelrooy gave plenty of shout-outs to Maresca, perhaps knowing that a mention of his name will go down well with the squad and spark good memories with supporters. There are similarities in their footballing ideas and set-ups too.
However, there are differences. While Maresca developed a reputation for stubbornness over his style of play, that does not look like the case with van Nistelrooy.
He said: “When you play top teams or mid-table teams or lower-ranked teams, it sometimes requires a different approach. The style of play adjusts depending on how we can win.
“I’m not a romantic manager who puts style ahead of a result. I love style, I love having the ball, I love creating lots of opportunities, I love pressing a team high but we are facing opponents and we’re not the dominant side in this league.”
Players kept on their toes
Van Nistelrooy played under some authoritative figures himself, not least Sir Alex Ferguson, and it does not feel like the City players will be allowed to slack in any way. Already, the new manager is ensuring they are kept on their toes.
First, he suggested that he will be assessing them thoroughly over the next few weeks so as to make decisions over the January transfer window. And he also told them he’d delved into his contacts to find out more about each of their personalities. All of the players will hope they got a good reference.
Surprise over boom in interest
Van Nistelrooy’s “astonishment” that four games with Manchester United earned more interest in his services than a season with PSV and a decade of coaching would perhaps be echoed by followers of the game. Targeting a manager after the exposure of a four-game run at Old Trafford feels akin to a scramble to sign a player off the back of a good World Cup or European Championships.
It feels a little old-school and not in keeping with the way the game has developed, with the rise in data and analysis to assess performance. It seems clear that van Nistelrooy values his time at PSV more than his few weeks in Manchester.
City manager whispers before international break
Not only did Van Nistelrooy consult Maresca when he was interviewing for the City job, but he also discussed the club when the two faced off in the Premier League a few weeks ago, during the Dutchman’s spell with United. He said they had a half-hour chat, and Leicester came up as a conversation.
It’s since emerged that City were having second thoughts about Steve Cooper prior to the international break. Perhaps Van Nistelrooy had got wind that a vacancy might be about to crop up.
Van Nistelrooy’s gap-year tour
The 48-year-old had a year out of work between leaving PSV and joining United, and he kept himself busy. Despite his education under some of the best managers around, there is still room to learn, he feels.
He visited Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, Martin Demichelis and Marcelo Gallardo at Argentinian side River Plate and his former boss Manuel Pellegrini at Real Betis, picking their brains over anything and everything.
He said: “I just fire away. My own experiences, their experiences, how they train, their game model, how they approach the players. They are fantastic lessons I learned that I can use now on a daily basis.”
The trip to see Ancelotti gave van Nistelrooy a refresher of the Real Madrid training ground 15 years on. Arriving at Seagrave for the first time at the weekend, van Nistelrooy said the facilities were of similar quality to those at the base of the European champions.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Premier League
What are your first impressions of van Nistelrooy? Click HERE to have your say.