Van Nistelrooy on Leicester's 2-0 City defeat and lack of goal threat
02/04/2025
Etihad stadium, Manchester, UK
02/04/2025
Etihad stadium, Manchester, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hi, Ruud. First place to start off a disappointing night in terms of a result,
00:04what did you make of the way your players acquitted themselves tonight?
00:09Yeah, of course, I think the form that we're in, the sequence of games that we're in,
00:16if you have a start of a game like this, it's not only hard in any situation,
00:23but especially in the situation that we're in it makes it extra hard.
00:27Of course you come in with positives after a long break,
00:30after a good couple of weeks of training.
00:34Of course you want a way at City, you want to have a good start,
00:39get through the first 10 or 15 minutes where they come for us and at us.
00:44But of course with their own ball loss in midfield, with the turnover,
00:48and of course communication between keeper and centre-back for the second,
00:53then before the half-hour we're 2-0 down, and it's going to be a long night,
00:59looking for more goals, looking like they're coming and more chances,
01:07so we had to really fight to go in with a 2-0 result at half-time,
01:10so that made it very difficult for us.
01:15Because of the position, at what point do you have to accept
01:19that going down looks very likely, is that this point?
01:23Of course, we live in reality, we know what the situation is in the table,
01:29points-wise, 12 points, we have eight games to play.
01:33Mathematically, as I said before, it's not over,
01:36and we have the responsibility to keep going,
01:39and there's no other way than doing that.
01:43Root, how do you motivate yourself?
01:46Because in your playing career you've never experienced anything like that,
01:52most of the players, although some were relegated two years ago,
01:57even this kind of form wasn't there.
02:00How do you retain motivation?
02:02Yeah, I think it has something to do with your personal pride and honour,
02:09by doing the job as good as you can in any circumstance.
02:15That is my drive, and that's how I get up every morning.
02:21That demands character, resilience in dealing with the situation that you're in,
02:31and accepting that, accepting reality, and look in the mirror,
02:38and go back to the players and staff to do better,
02:43and get the best out of people around you.
02:47That is how I try to do it.
02:51Jorrit, just two shots today, do you feel like this system is going to work eventually
03:00in terms of getting that goal and creating more of an attack?
03:04Yeah, you have to look at the bigger picture of course of the season,
03:09not only this system where we use three games.
03:12I don't think you can take it into the discussion of a system or not.
03:18We've tried different options in different moments,
03:22with tweaks in the way we played,
03:26also the different personnel in different positions.
03:29I think overall you can take the conclusion that we struggle to score in any system.
03:40So it's something that is not down to a system, I think.
03:46Seven games in a row defeated, seven games without a goal,
03:51what can you say to fans to make them want to keep coming back
03:55and keep coming to support your team?
03:56Because the situation does look pretty bleak.
04:00It does, it does.
04:03As I said before on the previous question,
04:05for me the most important thing is that I stay at it and evaluate the games,
04:17and be the best manager I can be within this situation with the team and with everybody at Leicester,
04:25working with this team to manage that the best way possible.
04:31That is my job.
04:34In an extremely difficult moment we're all in there together,
04:39and I expect myself to be the first one to react in a good way,
04:48to keep working, doing the best I can with the people around me,
04:53and that's my focus at the moment.
04:56Just to check a couple of players, Harry Winks not in the squad today,
04:58is that an injury or just a selection?
05:01And Jamie off at half-time, any reason behind that?
05:04No injury, of course it was a game where we are defending a lot,
05:09and in a sense you could say I was arresting him.
05:18Thank you, guys.