van Nistelrooy on unbeaten interim role and 3-0 leicester win
10/11/2024
Old trafford, Manchester, Uk
10/11/2024
Old trafford, Manchester, Uk
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00:00Can you describe what sort of a place this could be if someone could do that on a regular
00:27basis?
00:28I can only describe that moment, how I felt it, and as a closure of this block of four
00:48games. It felt like a closure for that period, and the future is open. That's the way I felt
00:58it, and it was a beautiful moment to be able to share that with the supporters. Yeah, special.
01:11You've come in and won three games, the situation's stabilised, now a new manager's coming in
01:22and we've spoken a lot about he plays with three at the back, he plays with wing-backs,
01:27inside forwards, do you think the squad here can easily fit into that kind of transformation?
01:36That's a very good question. What for me is important is that when I started as an interim,
01:47at the beginning of this four-game period, with my other colleagues and staff, to stabilise
01:55and to continue playing what the players are used to, 80-85 per cent, and put in little
02:06tweaks, or change of positions, or resting players or starting players, and that's where
02:11you start to get your own bit in of identity, transfer it to the training pitch, get the
02:22confidence back, try to get that back. You can see quality of the players, still not
02:32in a consistent way because there's still a lot to improve, but I think there's a foundation
02:38in the past four games where there was strong unity, good spirit, players who were at it,
02:48looking for results, and we got four, and that is for me the important thing.
02:56Sorry I didn't go into your question, because for me it's a lot now to analyse,
03:01are there wing-backs, are there inside forwards, can it work?
03:05Sorry, I can't comment on that.
03:09Congratulations on the win. It was obviously very emotional as you said,
03:14the future is open. Did it feel like you wanted to make the most of it, in case it is goodbye?
03:21No, I felt like closing this period down, if you say it like that.
03:29Basically it was a moment, here and now, and that was the beauty of the moment in my opinion,
03:40where circumstances came together and it was a beautiful moment.
03:51It was gratitude from my side to them, and the reception I was able to receive was unbelievable,
04:00so I can only thank them enough.
04:04Rudy, very decisive in the second half, taking Diogo and Marcus off,
04:10what was the timing of those changes?
04:13The timing was that I felt it was necessary in today's game to make those changes.
04:21You could also see that players who played so many minutes in so many games,
04:28in such a thin squad, they need a replacement to keep them fit, to keep them healthy.
04:36There are other players now in the squad that are back,
04:40Jonny Evans, fantastic how he comes in and does the job,
04:44and Lissandra going to left-back and doing their jobs.
04:49I spoke to Alejandro before the game, you're playing so many games, so many minutes,
04:55I want you fresh from the bench to make a difference as a sub.
04:59It's the reality where we were in, and it's good to have many more players on board,
05:06like Christian, Eriksen, who could step in for Casemiro,
05:11who also played almost everything over the last period.
05:16Rudy, are you going to miss being in the technical area?
05:19Is it going to be an easy transition?
05:22I only walk out of it and the fourth official is getting me back into it,
05:28so it appears that I don't want to be there.
05:32But I'm too connected, I think, to the game.
05:36I think it's important to know your role, that's very important, and then things can work.
05:42I think the first months here in my role as assistant, I did my job,
05:50I knew my role, I knew how to support others,
05:53and in the interim you have to take responsibility,
05:57and that's another reality which I try to fulfil, and both are good jobs.
06:08Perhaps a difficult question to answer, but your team has gone beastly in this short spell,
06:13the team is scoring, they've kept clean sheets,
06:15is there any part of you at all that is perhaps a little bit disappointed
06:18that the club didn't just let your interim spell play out and see how you did,
06:22and then make a decision in the way that you did with Sancho?
06:25Yeah, I appreciated the clear communication of the club
06:29that it was an interim spell for a short term,
06:31could have been one or two games even, that was the first communication,
06:34and they kept me in the loop and said,
06:37OK, it's going to be four, it's going to be announced, a new head coach, etc.
06:42So for me it is important to have that clarity, and I appreciated that.
06:47In the end, the most important thing is this football club,
06:51and I'm here to support that in my role,
06:55and as I said, I want to continue doing that in the future.
07:01Also the communication was, OK, after a block of four games
07:06there will be communication towards you and your colleagues
07:10that are in an uncertain situation,
07:13so I expect to hear today or tomorrow from them.
07:17Karl.
07:19I want to talk about the partnership between Amad and Bruno Fernandes.
07:25On Thursday you said you wanted them both to work as number 10s,
07:29but today they seem to be passing to each other very often.
07:32Is there something you hope Amad and Bruno can build upon?
07:36You know, for me it was important to look at the games
07:40and how we can be as successful as we can.
07:45In the first half we started with Mazraoui on the left side,
07:50going high and making a three with Diogo and Matthijs and Lice.
07:56That meant Amad was on the line and Bruno was close to him.
08:00In the second half it changed, because I put Mazraoui on the right
08:06and Amad could be more inside, so he was both 10s with Bruno.
08:11But in both situations they connect and they know how to deal with tight spaces
08:17and get things going in tight areas.
08:22I think it was a good example, the first goal, how it came across.