Monday, December 23, 2024

Calm and collected Van Nistelrooy impresses at first news conference

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Ruud van Nistelrooy arrived a few minutes late for his first news conference as Leicester manager.

The 48-year-old can be forgiven, though, as he quickly adjusts to life at the Foxes. He only met the squad on Sunday and has had just two days to prepare for Tuesday’s Premier League visit of West Ham – so his time is precious.

Van Nistelrooy shook journalists’ hands and introduced himself, waving at those with cameras at the back of the room and joking that he will try to remember everyone’s names.

He spoke clearly and calmly, poking fun at himself as he links up with Jamie Vardy – who broke his Premier League record of scoring in consecutive games in 2015.

Leicester are a point above the bottom three and have signs of fractures at the club so need a cool and composed head to lead them away from danger.

Van Nistelrooy has played under some of the best managers in the world, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Fabio Capello, and he now gets to put that experience into practice in his first full-time Premier League job.

In an ideal world, he could have done without a game 48 hours after meeting the players as there is little he can do in that time.

But it is a chance to showcase himself to the Leicester fans early, especially as those supporters have started to turn on the club.

There should be more positivity at King Power Stadium, given fans never took to former boss Steve Cooper – but that will only last with results.

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