Ruud van Nistelrooy has made his feelings on the current Leicester City squad very clear after becoming their new boss.
Leicester City confirmed Ruud van Nistelrooy as their new manager on Friday evening.
The Dutchman has signed a contract that will keep him at the King Power Stadium until 2027.
Leicester fans are thrilled to have Van Nistelrooy at the club, expressing their delight at him replacing Steve Cooper already.
The 48-year-old is not going to be in charge when the Foxes face off with Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
But he will be in attendance at the Gtech Community Stadium for the 3pm kick-off where he will no doubt be making a lot of notes over who is performing and where his side need to improve.
Leicester are firmly in a relegation battle this season and defeat to Thomas Frank’s men could see them slip back into the Premier League relegation zone.
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Ruud van Nistelrooy sets Leicester City squad one goal
Ben Dawson will take charge of the game against Brentford but Van Nistelrooy has already set his new players a goal ahead of the match.
Before his announcement on Friday evening, the ex-Red Devil conducted an interview with the club.
In it, he gave his initial assessment of the Foxes’ squad and set a new goal for the club to meet in every match they play.
He said: “Of course, if you look at the squad there’s some exciting talent there you know.
“In all lines of play, defence, midfield and attack so of course, the excitement is there. When you have the ball and we create a lot of chances and you go for the win that’s in every game is the goal of course.”
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How Leicester City will play under Ruud van Nistelrooy
Leicester’s style of play this season, if they even really had one, has been pretty dire.
Cooper never really established a clear way of playing during his brief time at the club, with the Foxes often dominated by teams as they sat too deep and invited pressure.
This led to the club conceding the joint-third most goals in the Premier League this season before the latest gameweek.
But Van Nistelrooy is looking to replicate a similar style to that of former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca.
He said: “A lot of principles and structures that I see, on the ball and off the ball, are structures that I use a lot myself as the PSV manager and at United.
“Not all of them, of course, but many of them. The way Leicester City played under [Enzo] Maresca, winning the Championship and going into the Premier League, I see also that line continuing in those structures and the idea of playing.”