Ruud van Nistelrooy makes brutally honest Leicester City admission – ‘It’s too much’

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City were beaten by Manchester City on Wednesday night to see the gap to 17th place Wolves sit at 12 points with eight games to play

Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy admitted his team can “be real” about their battle against the drop after Wednesday’s defeat against Manchester City. The loss – combined with Wolves’ victory over West Ham the previous night – left the Foxes 12 points from safety with just eight games remaining.

Since taking over from Steve Cooper at the end of November, Van Nistelrooy has picked up only seven points in the league. The defeat at the Etihad Stadium was a seventh on the spin in the competition, with Leicester failing to score a single goal in any of those matches.

“Not scoring, losing games, bad start is extra hard to recover from,” Van Nistelrooy told Sky Sports. “[The] situation we’re in, only by hard work can we get out. The gap is huge now it’s a challenge.

“Nevertheless we have eight games to play and we have to represent ourselves in the best possible way and that’s a challenge.”

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Both goals came inside the opening half hour on Wednesday. Jack Grealish opened the scoring with his first goal of the season, with Omar Marmoush making the points safe.

“Today before the game I mentioned it because the gap was already big,” added Van Nistelrooy. “I asked the players that the remanining moments we have at this level we have to make the most of it no matter the table or the score in the game. We have to go from first to last minute and give it everything.

“We can be real about it, 12 points eight games to play. It’s a very big difference, too much.

“Focus on game to game and presenting ourselves in the best possible way. That is the main target now.”

The Dutchman admitted it was ironic that his team have struggled so much in front of goal when he was such a prolific scorer in his own playing career. Five of the nine league goals scored during his tenure came in his first two games, and they have drawn blanks in 12 of his 17 games.

Not only did relegation rivals Wolves win on Tuesday, but Ipswich claimed a surprise win away at Bournemouth the following evening.

Nathan Broadhead and Liam Delap scored the goals for Kieran McKenna’s side, who now sit three points ahead of Leicester themselves.

“It’s a big game, no doubt about it,” McKenna said about his team’s next match, at home to Wolves on Saturday. “It’s a big game to look forward to, a big game, a pressure game so let’s attack it. We try to enjoy every game at Portman Road.”

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