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Coach addition, Cooper axe – moments missed from Ruud van Nistelrooy's first Leicester City game

The Ruud van Nistelrooy era at Leicester City got off to the perfect start on Tuesday night as the Foxes beat struggling West Ham United 3-1.

Jamie Vardy opened the scoring, the sixth time he has scored a new City manager's first goal, after just two minutes. However, Van Nistelrooy's men were fortunate to go into the break ahead with West Ham recording 19 shots in the first-half.

The second half followed suit and after the visitors had a goal ruled out for a soft foul on Mads Hermansen, Bilal El Khannouss finished a lovely team goal to double their lead. Patson Daka came off the bench to score for the first time this season before Niclas Fulkrug headed in a consolation.

READ MORE:Leicester City 3-1 West Ham live reaction

READ MORE:Leicester City player ratings v West Ham as inspired duo kick off van Nistelrooy era with win

Cheers of 'Ruuud' echoed around the King Power Stadium at the full-time whistle as Leicester moved four points clear of the relegation zone with their third win of the season. Jubilation over a first win in charge sets the stage well for what's to come under Van Nistelrooy ahead of a busy festive schedule.

All eyes were on the Dutchman pre-match, during the contest and at full-time. With that in mind, we take a look at four moments you may have missed from the new Leicester manager from the touchline on Tuesday.

Pre-match Cooper edit

This season, the club has integrated a video called 'We're Leicester, We're Fearless', featuring Sergio Pizzorno from Kasabian, into their pre-match routine. The video is displayed just as the players leave the field after their warm-up and head back into the changing room.

In the video, it includes special highlights of Leicester's history including the 2016 Premier League win and 2021 FA Cup win. And at the start of the season, one line from Pizzorno said: "With Steve Cooper, calm, steady, guiding us along." However, with the game the first at home since Cooper's departure, that short section in the video was removed altogether.

Fans inside the stadium certainly would have struggled to notice and those watching on Amazon Prime definitely wouldn't have. Of course, it's no surprise given the Welshman has left the club.

Coaching staff hint

In the second half, the Amazon Prime cameras panned to Van Nistelrooy in conversation with a new face in the dug-out. The Dutchman has been working with first-team coaches Ben Dawson, Danny Alcock and Andy Hughes this week.

The new man was Jelle ten Rouwelaar, who was at Manchester United with Van Nistelrooy this season. The Dutchman joined Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff in the summer after previously working at Burnley and Anderlecht with Vincent Kompany. Van Nistelrooy mentioned by name in his post-match press conference, describing ten Rouwelaar as "his assistant/goalkeeping coach".

Jamie Vardy and Ruud van Nistelrooy

Jamie Vardy scored the first goal of the Ruud van Nistelrooy era at Leicester City

Khun Top moment

Van Nistelrooy's side had to weather a pretty intense and heavy storm from minute two of the contest. So when Kasey McAteer picked out El Khannouss inside the box to add some breathing space for the Foxes, there was a huge sense of relief.

As he did during his interim spell at Manchester United, Van Nistelrooy wheeled away from his technical area towards the Leicester fans in celebration. He then turned towards the West Stand, seemingly looking towards the directors box, where Khun Top is usually positioned, and shouted 'Vamos', the Spanish for 'Let's go'. The Leicester manager was passionate for all three goals.

Man management style

On Tuesday, Van Nistelrooy used his bench to perfection with all five subs utilised. Wout Faes and Daka came on after 60 minutes - one minute before Leicester's second goal - with Stephy Mavididi introduced for his pace and Bobby De Cordova-Reid replacing a tired El Khannouss.

Jordan Ayew came on for the final eight minutes of stoppage time, replacing Facundo Buonanotte. Each substitute had a role and one of the noticeable things was Ruud's effort to speak to each player, individually, just before they entered the pitch.

Every player received instruction from Dawson and different members of the coaching team, but Van Nistelrooy ensured he had the final word with each substitute. It's only a small thing but it can be really effective.

Leicester City Manager Ruud van Nistelrooy celebrates after Bilal El Khannouss scores to make it 2-0

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