Ruud van Nistelrooy stressed his disappointment after Leicester City were relegated back to the Championship but admitted that he is still in the dark over his own future at the club.
‘It’s very disappointing – it’s been weeks leading up to this,’ said Van Nistelrooy, who took over in November from Steve Cooper and has only won two of his 21 Premier League games in charge. ‘We always kept fighting for every bit of hope we had. We have to continue to use the games to end the season in the best way possible,’ the Leicester boss added.
Asked about his future, Van Nistelrooy, who is contracted until 2027, said: ‘I’m focused on taking my responsibility to do the best things for the future and next season. Performances like Brighton and the Liverpool game are signs that the players are willing to do that. We have to take responsibility and that’s what I’m doing for the next five weeks and after that we have to see.’
The Dutchman revealed that no date has been put in for a conversation with the club hierarchy but that he expects talks to be held soon. He won just eight points in 21 games, compared to Cooper, who won 10 points in 12.
And Van Nistelrooy, 48, admitted that the job was a lot tougher than he expected, claiming that the gulf in class between the promoted sides and the rest was too much, with Southampton’s fate already sealed and Ipswich set to join them in the Championship next season.
‘I expected to get more points than I was able to get,’ he said. ‘I think there some very good performances and that's what we've said in press conferences and there were games where didn't perform to our capabilities. Over 33 games, it's the level of the three promoted sides - the gap has been too big compared to the other 17 teams - it's a clear, difference in quality with two teams relegated already and the other one 15 points back with five games - that's the first conclusion and most important one’
Leicester are the first team in top-flight history to go nine consecutive home league games without scoring, having last scored at home in December, but Van Nistelrooy insisted that he would not change anything he has done.
‘I have done everything in the interests of the club so no I wouldn’t change,’ he said. ‘It is my job to make decisions before and not after. After you can say, it was good or it wasn’t good. The decisions I made with all the people in the club were made with one goal and that was to bring points on the table. There’s no regrets in that.’