Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has offered his services to Ruud van Nistelrooy in order to add experience that he believes the Leicester City manager is lacking.
Meulensteen did not believe van Nistelrooy’s decision to take up the City reins was a wise one, and it’s proven a difficult job for the former striker.
Van Nistelrooy has earned just seven points from his 16 Premier League matches in charge, leaving City nine points from safety with nine games to play.
Meulensteen, who also managed Fulham during his 35-year coaching career and has spent the past six years as assistant coach for the Australian national team, believes one of van Nistelrooy’s issues is that he spent most of his playing career with sides at the top of the division, rather than in the relegation battle that City face.
It’s something van Nistelrooy has often been quizzed on, but he’s dismissed the significance of that lack of relegation experience, while also pointing to the early days of his career, when he was playing in the second tier of Dutch football with Den Bosch.
“As a player, he’s played in trophy-winning teams for 90 per cent of his career,” Meulensteen told Footy Accumulators.
“He’s always known how to be on the front foot and be the better side, and now you have to dig yourself out of something completely different. It requires a different approach and mentality.
“People asked me what I thought to him taking the job and I scratched my head and said I’m not too sure whether that’s a wise decision.
“He was never experienced, and at Leicester, this is a relegation battle. You need to be an expert in that, in the most difficult league in the world.”
Meulensteen also said he would be willing to chat to van Nistelrooy if the City manager wanted his help.
The 61-year-old said van Nistelrooy did approach him before he chose to leave PSV Eindhoven in what was the manager’s only other senior permanent head coach role.
However, a change to the coaching team at City seems unlikely. Van Nistelrooy brought goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar to the club with him, while City have since added Brian Barry-Murphy as first-team coach, with Andy King promoted from the Under-18s.
Ben Dawson and Danny Alcock, who had been appointed under Steve Cooper, were let go last month as City streamlined their coaching team.
Meulensteen said: “Ruud and I know each other really well because I worked with him and always stayed in touch.
“I rate him highly, I think he jumped the ship at PSV a little bit too soon, he was doing really well.
“I think I would work with him really well. He actually asked me that question when he was at PSV, whether I wanted to come for the next season.
“I always feel if I jump into a job, I want to make sure that I'd be able to make a difference, not to make up the numbers.
“If Ruud would come calling, I would help him of course I would. I would talk to him and say, okay what can I do for you?”
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