Leicester City have “a lot of issues inside the club” but Ruud van Nistelrooy is not one, with title-winning captain Wes Morgan backing the Dutchman to lead the club into next season.
Speculation is rife over van Nistelrooy’s future after he said the club’s hierarchy failed to engage in talks with him over the future during the final weeks of the campaign.
But Morgan says he should be given an opportunity to manage City in the Championship.
He feels van Nistelrooy came into a difficult situation and has not yet had a chance to stamp his mark on the team in terms of transfers.
But also, with the prospect of a points deduction hanging over City, they may have trouble enticing a new manager to the club.
The former centre-back also said “lots of things need to be addressed” following City’s second relegation in three years if they hope to establish themselves as a Premier League club again.
“Never could I have foreseen them having a drop-off like they have had,” Morgan told talkSPORT. “It’s sad to see.
“What was great was that they bounced back and you’re thinking they’ve got a second chance at it. But everyone can see it’s been a terrible season.
“There’s no shying away from that. There’s a lot of things that probably need to be addressed and a lot of issues inside the club that explain why it’s happened. Hopefully next season, a lot of the wrongs will be put right.
“I’m not sure who’s going to be in charge, I’m not sure what the team’s going to look like, but hopefully Leicester can bounce back again and try to stay in the Premier League.
“I like Ruud. He came into a difficult situation. People have said whether he could have changed his tactics in games earlier to create something different, maybe that came a little too late.
“But to change managers all the time is not healthy. It’s a fresh start, it’s a fresh season. I think he should be given a chance.
“He came into a situation that wasn’t ideal, he’s not been able to bring in any players. Now going into the next season there’s going to be a points deduction. Ruud’s already aware of that. A new manager coming in might be put off by that.”
While Morgan did not go into too many specifics over the problems City have internally, he did point to recruitment and said the club haven’t got close enough to replacing the quality that left.
“All the great teams have an expiry date,” he added. “All the best players will leave, the team will eventually change.
“The key is recruitment. It’s difficult because you’re never going to get the same player, like for like. But if you can get close enough and keep that identity, you can maintain and keep those high levels.
“Looking at the Leicester team, they’re not up to that standard that the former players were. I think that’s fair to say, performances have shown that.”
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Jamie Vardy souvenir edition of the Leicester Mercury
It was certainly a fairytale ending to Jamie Vardy's Leicester City career - netting his 200th goal in his final match for the club.
To celebrate, we are launching a this special edition of the Leicester Mercury where we look back at the striker's amazing career - his journey from non-league to England international, his greatest goals and where he stands in the Foxes' list of all-time greats.
We also revisit the trophy-winning campaigns - the 2021 FA Cup and, of course, the 2016 Premier League title.
And there are plenty of tributes from those who played with him, against him and worked with him.
Jamie Vardy, it's certainly been a party!
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