Ruud van Nistelrooy may not have as many wins as he would like as Leicester City boss, but his impact has been acknowledged by members of the squad.
Leicester recorded a second win of the Van Nistelrooy era on Saturday as the Foxes beat QPR 6-2 to reach the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.
It was a first win in six games for Leicester which had included a run of five straight losses and provided a much-needed confidence boost in the East Midlands.
Despite the poor run of form, it’s clear to see that the Leicester players are on board with Van Nistelrooy and one Foxes first team star has been extremely complimentary of the Dutchman.
Stephy Mavididi praises Ruud van Nistelrooy for Leicester’s mentality change
One player who has featured regularly under Van Nistelrooy is Stephy Mavididi.
The winger has been a regular part of the starting XI and has recently rediscovered his scoring touch after finding the net in back-to-back games after going 14 matches without a goal for Leicester.
Mavididi excelled in the Championship but has frustrated at times, however, under Van Nistelrooy he has looked far more threatening.
Speaking to the media after the game, the 26-year-old revealed that Van Nistelrooy has lifted everyone’s mood around the club and that he hopes they can use that to inspire them to Premier League safety.
He said: “In his first meeting, it was kind of like a wake-up call to the lads – and myself included – and is pushing all of us to reach our maximum potential.
He’s come in and gave an opinion on us. Someone from the outside looking in has a different opinion and put certain things in place. It’s paying off in performances, it’s just the results that we need to pick up.
“It (the win) was massive. We said in the changing room we have an important week coming up, hopefully we can kick on.
“The mentality has changed and he’s giving us confidence and reminding us of our potential and reminding us we have a good team and good players so that’s the main thing, the mentality.”
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Stephy Mavididi stats 24/25 season
Although he hasn’t been as prolific as he was last season, the winger has still been one of the Foxes’ most effective players.
His strike against QPR was his fifth of the season, which puts him joint-second alongside Jordan Ayew in the scoring charts, with Jamie Vardy’s tally of seven the only one to better it.
| Competition | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| Premier League | 19 | 3 | 1 |
| EFL Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 |
There’s no doubting that his numbers need to improve but after he and the other Leicester attackers impressed on Saturday, he will have a great chance to add to his total.