Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy wants his performances to bring more points
Leicester City head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy believes his side can still avoid relegation to the Championship – provided they can convert good performances into points.
The Foxes played well in the first half against Crystal Palace last night, but the Londoners improved after the break and eventually cruised to a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
It was Leicester’s sixth consecutive league defeat, with Van Nistelrooy failing to make the impact the club had hoped for when he was appointed as a replacement for the sacked Steve Cooper.
But the Dutchman has not given up hope despite the club sitting 19th in the Premier League and two points away from safety.
On our position in the league 🔵
“We are desperate to get out of this situation and we know that every game where we don’t score points makes it more difficult. There are three or four teams that are very close to each other, it’s up to us to do it.” pic.twitter.com/RkNPjSISyT
– Leicester City (@LCFC) January 16, 2025
He said: “We have been talking about this for a while now. It’s about converting the good performances into points and that’s the goal because we know where we stand in the league. We know that only points can get us out of this situation.”
Next up is a home game against Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Van Nistelrooy added: “We definitely want to be out of this situation by the end of May and we know that every game we don’t collect is a lost game and that makes it more difficult.”
“We also know that we are in a situation where three or four teams are very close to each other, they also lose points and that makes the situation even more possible.” But it’s up to us to start collecting, take advantage of it we are fed up (performance and no result).”
Van Nistelrooy hopes to contribute to Coulibaly’s new signing
Leicester signed their first January signing yesterday, bringing in full-back Woyo Coulibaly from Parma for £3million.
However, the 25-year-old has not yet been able to train and may not be able to play at the weekend.
Van Nistelrooy added: “Today he couldn’t train with the team because we are finalizing the paperwork. So we’re waiting today to see whether he can train with the team.
“Of course we have to assess him and that is a training session before the game. We’ll see if we can get him involved in the game on Saturday. I think that will be the maximum that is possible.”
Van Nistelrooy hopes Coulibaly will be the first of several new signings in the January window. He said: “We are working on it, every opportunity we can add. Within the scope of the club’s possibilities, also permanently and on loan. Due to Ricardo (Pereira)’s injury, we needed an additional right-back. Hopefully we can add more.”
