New Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy admitted he was “astonished” at options that arose from his short stint as interim coach at Manchester United.
Van Nistelrooy takes charge of his first game since replacing the sacked Steve Cooper on Tuesday night when the Foxes take on West Ham United at the King Power Stadium.
The Dutch coach was in the stands alongside Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha at the Gtech Stadium on Saturday to see his new side thumped 4-1 by Brentford, when Ben Dawson was in charge for one game only.
Van Nistelrooy had just finished an interim role of his own when he took over the Old Trafford hot seat for four games following the sacking of compatriot Erik ten Hag.
During that spell, United remained unbeaten, winning three matches including twice defeating future club Leicester – 5-2 in the League Cup last-16 and 3-0 in the Premier League.
The 48-year-old had been keen to remain at the club where he scored 150 goals as a prolific striker only for incoming manager Ruben Amorim to decide against keeping Van Nistelrooy on as part of his backroom team.
But the stint at United certainly appears to have done him no harm and he admitted to being surprised by the opportunities that quickly came along as a result.
“What happened after the games and the amount of interest all of a sudden was there for me and the options which came along, I was astonished by it,” admitted Van Nistelrooy in his first press conference as manager on Monday.
“It was four games, I managed a full season at PSV, won a cup and the charity shield. I'd been in coaching with the Under-19s and the national team.
“I never got this reaction from the football world. I was happy with that. I was then able to talk to different parties and make a decision.
“It was a good period. It was short and intense but I was happy to help and steady the ship.”
Cooper had only replaced Enzo Maresca as manager in the summer after the Italian left for Chelsea having guided the Foxes to the second-tier title and promotion back to the top-flight in his one season in charge.
But the former manager of Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest failed to win over Leicester fans and, according to UK media reports, the players themselves, and was relieved of his duties after just 12 games with the club two points outside the drop zone.
Before accepting the call to take over from Cooper, Van Nistelrooy revealed he had spoken to the man that had led the club to such an impressive promotion from the Championship and who has made a positive start to his reign at Chelsea.
“When the first approach was there, you are going to think about the club, the set-up, the players, the training ground,” he said. “You're curious about the people who work there and Enzo, being a great friend and former teammate, he was the first one to call. What better information could I get?
“When we played against each other in the Premier League – when I was Manchester United interim boss against Chelsea [which finished 1-1] – we spoke for half an hour.
“I didn't know yet about Leicester but we spoke about it and he was already very positive [after managing them]. That only got better when I spoke to him. I have to say he was absolutely right, according to first impressions.”
First up for Van Nistelrooy are a West Ham side who are struggling themselves under a coach who arrived only in the summer in Julen Lopetegui and who suffered a heavy defeat of their own at the weekend – a 5-2 home demolition by Arsenal.
But having only met his squad for the first time on Sunday, he has had little time to try to affect the atmosphere at a club described as “being in a dark place” by defender Conor Coady at the weekend.
“I had a meeting with the players and it was the first thing to address,” added Van Nistelrooy, whose new team sit one point and two places above the relegation zone. “The situation we're in, the challenge that we face, and what's necessary to get out of that situation.
“In two days it's difficult to make a lot of changes, but we have started to make changes in the style of play, training sessions, structure, little by little starting to build a foundation of a highly motivated team who can compete in this league.”
