“They’ve Got to Stick with Him!” – Former Leicester City Star Backs Ruud Van Nistelrooy Despite Relegation Scare | OneFootball

Emile Heskey Defends Under-Pressure Ruud Van Nistelrooy Despite Leicester City Struggles

The 2024-25 season was one full of hope for Leicester City supporters as they returned to the Premier League after suffering relegation back in 2023. However, just a few months into the new season Steve Cooper was sacked after a slow start and was replaced by Manchester United legend Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

However, the Dutchman has so far failed to turn the tide on the Foxes’ season with Leicester City currently slumped in the relegation zone with just 17 points from 27 games so far. That leaves the five points away from safety, with Wolves sitting in 17th place.

With just two wins in his 15 Premier League games in charge, pressure has certainly started to increase on Van Nistelrooy.

However, former Leicester City forward Emile Heskey spoke exclusively to EPL Index and shared his support for the head coach…

Photo: IMAGO

“Stick with him!”

“What difference is it going to make by sacking him?” began Heskey, “It’s just another financial outlay that the club can’t afford to have at the moment.”

“I think they’ve got to stick with him and figure out where they want to go and what they want to be,” continued Heskey, “When we won the Premier League, it was with a side of full of grafters and hard-workers but then they changed the philosophy and look where we are now.”

Not only was that team filled with hard-working characters like Robert Huth, Wes Morgan, Danny Simpson and Danny Drinkwater, but it was also filled with unbelievably savvy transfer signings.

The likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante were all signed for miniscule fees that will simply never be replicated in today’s market.

There are plenty of questions over some of the club’s recent signings with the likes of Oliver Skipp (£23m), Caleb Okoli (£14m), Wout Faes (£17m) and Harry Souttar (£17m) all failing to make a huge impact at the King Power Stadium.

Photo: IMAGO

“Bouncing Back Up”

Under the guidance of the current Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, Leicester City managed to bounce straight back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking. With the Foxes heading towards a second relegation in three years, Heskey remained convinced on Van Nistelrooy’s credentials.

“I’d 100% back him to bring Leicester back up, just like Maresca did,” began Heskey, “I don’t think he is of the same ilk as Maresca, but I do think he can help us to bounce back up.”

“We can’t assume that it is going to be easy though,” continued Heskey, “It’s a really unforgiving league and you can have some really hard battles down there.”