Sports

EPL: Winning Start For Van Nistelrooy As Leicester Beat West Ham

Published

12 hours ago

Dec 4, 2024.

Dennis

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City side endured nervy moments against West Ham, but their 3-1 victory on Tuesday has already reignited hope among Foxes fans.

Appointed on Friday to replace Steve Cooper, who was dismissed after just 12 Premier League matches, van Nistelrooy wasted no time in delivering results.

The Dutchman witnessed Leicester’s 4-1 defeat to Brentford from the stands alongside club owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha on Sunday. However, his managerial debut saw a dream start as Jamie Vardy’s early goal set the tone for a morale-boosting win at the King Power Stadium.

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“In the end you look at the result and the three points, in the position that we are in, it’s vital,” Van Nistelrooy, 48, said.

“We know the level in the Premier League and we know every game we play that everything has to be right. We have to train and develop our defence, our counter attack, our possession.

“Lots of things to work on but very happy with the three points.”

The win moves Leicester up to 15th in the Premier League, two points behind the Hammers.

“The third day working at the club, it’s been very busy getting to know everyone. Everybody was involved with that and helping, it was busy and long days but worth it,” Van Nistelrooy said in a post-match news conference.

“I was focused on the moment and today I will get myself a little beer and reflect on the last three days.”

Graham Potter, the former Brighton and Chelsea boss, said it was the “perfect start” and means the supporters will have “that trust and belief in the new manager and that is so important”.

“You can do all the talking you want but if the players actually believe him and follow what he is saying then it can be very powerful,” he told Amazon Prime. “The best way to get belief is by winning football matches.”

Leicester captain Vardy pounced after just 98 seconds in Van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge, before Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka struck to seal victory.

Vardy has now scored the first Premier League goal under six Leicester City managers in the top flight.

It was also Vardy who broke Van Nistelrooy’s record for scoring in consecutive Premier League games when he achieved 11 in a row for Leicester back in 2015.

Van Nistelrooy joked about it on Monday, and he said he told Vardy they had a “big issue” to get out of the way before they could start working together.