Van Nistelrooy frustrated after Utd offside winner knocks Leicester out of FA Cup
07/02/2025
Old Trafford, manchester, UK
07/02/2025
Old Trafford, manchester, UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Can we start with the last minute, the award of the free-kick and the current wide-feet?
00:18You've come from an up-side position, how did you feel and what was your view on that?
00:24Yeah, it's a hard one to take because the game was decided on a mistake, it was clear.
00:34It's not a matter of VAR, where you have to look millimetres, it was half a metre, it was clear.
00:44The team didn't deserve to lose the game in this way, because they fought, they played well,
00:53dominated the game for a long bit, leading 1-0, and that's how you feel after this.
01:03Did you feel today you had to open it really bad?
01:06Was that like having the impact you had on the team?
01:09Yeah, you've seen the game, you've seen the way he played, the way he lifted the team,
01:17on the ball, off the ball, performance excellent, but also leadership.
01:22It's not only the captain's armband that he wore, it was also the way he led the team,
01:27the way he was demanding from his surroundings, coaching, talking, preventing situations to occur.
01:34So I thought Bouba and Will had a great partnership today on the ball,
01:40but also off the ball to control the game.
01:43Are there other big boosts you can take from tonight,
01:47off the return of Will, the impact he had on Bouba, but are there any other positives?
01:52For me, the general performance was a big positive.
01:56Of course, after Spurs there was hope, the hope was back,
02:01after Everton all the hope was gone.
02:04We wanted a reaction after that, we did, we did.
02:11We said we weren't good enough against Everton, we showed that today.
02:16That was an incident in between two very good performances, Spurs and United,
02:22and also the belief that we are capable.
02:27We are capable to compete against the best teams away from home as well,
02:33and that's the way forward.
02:36When we are consistent in that, and that's our goal, then we can compete at this level.
02:46Ruud, I think when you manage a team in this sort of position,
02:52you need to be in the lead in terms of navigation.
02:56Sometimes it feels like, oh, the FA Cup is out of the way,
03:00but how you speak about the FA Cup, you're not going to feel like that,
03:04it's going to be a group fight for you.
03:07Do you want me to answer this?
03:11How do you feel?
03:13That's not a question for me.
03:19We live, we want to die on the pitch today,
03:24so to get to the next round, to be the best we can be,
03:31we are competitive, we are representing ourselves in the FA Cup at Old Trafford.
03:40I don't understand the question.
03:53I thought the team defended as a unit,
03:57and all the individual parts in how we wanted to press
04:02and how we wanted to defend certain phases was excellent,
04:06in teamwork, in intensity, and holding United far from our own box
04:14for a long period in the game.
04:17Of course, you know with their quality that they're going to create something,
04:21but also lower, we defended really well,
04:24and the back line and the centre-backs were important in that.
04:38One, you can't turn it back, so we have to live with it.
04:44Two, we're all humans and make mistakes,
04:48but at this level it's not good enough.
04:53That's it, and for me that's enough to be sad about.
05:00Should the rule of this competition be that if VAR is available,
05:08come back to the ground and just let's have it,
05:11rather than not having it at all because some clubs don't have the technology?
05:17I mean, let the FA decide on that and UEFA and whatever you want to do with VAR.
05:23Would you prefer that?
05:26Wow, let me think about that question.
05:34Ruben Amorim came in earlier and talked about the fact that
05:38you changed your typical pressure structure,
05:41which caused some difficulties for your team when you had to coach,
05:44especially with Rat and Sadd in terms of how you wanted them to jump out and press.
05:48Is that true, first of all, and secondly, what made you go,
05:53what did you see that made you want to go with that decision
05:56to change the pressure structure for United?
06:02We had some different details in pressing.
06:08The set-up was slightly different,
06:11the way we pressed over our right side and over our left side,
06:17when we forced the ball to the sides and the jumps that were necessary there.
06:23Slightly different, but that's correct.
06:27It worked because we got pressure on them, we forced them to the sides,
06:32in the second half they came, of course, with solutions,
06:36with Bruno dropping in really deep,
06:38but for us it's not a problem to leave him out of our block,
06:42and when the ball was played in we were on players again.
06:47I think the players handled the different situations really well,
06:51where they came with variety in movements on the wings and from the tents,
06:56so the communication was excellent there and we handled that part really well.
07:02You seem quite grounded about the fact that mistakes happen,
07:05but a winner, Old Trafford, a cup run could redefine your season.
07:09Are you having to choose your words and dampen your emotions?
07:13Because I can't imagine that changing right now.
07:16Disappointed but angry as well.
07:18Yeah, we are. We've got it.
07:23When you prepare the whole week for this game,
07:28and reacting after the Everton loss,
07:31and put in a performance like that,
07:34and it's been decided on a clear and obvious mistake,
07:42that is unacceptable and unthinkable in this level,
07:47but it happens to you.
07:50We have nothing else to do than pick ourselves up, also from this, again.
07:58That is not what the team deserves.
08:02Obviously you were working here for six months earlier this season,
08:05around that time, how much did that play a part in knowing the strengths
08:10and limitations of the United squad?
08:14Obviously you study the opponents in how they play under the new manager.
08:24That's how you make your game plan, on and off the ball and in transitions.
08:30You're looking at behaviours that are new under the manager that is in charge.
08:39That's how you plan it and the game, and you train it.
08:44I know the characteristics of the players,
08:47but of course in this system it's different than it was,
08:52and we looked at the recent months under Ruben.
08:58In spite of the defeat today, does this performance at Old Trafford
09:02and in the way last week, the fighting spirit, the lead,
09:06does that form a springboard for you?
09:16Yes, because when players feel that when they play collectively like they did today,
09:23and also at Spurs, that is what you feel on the pitch as a player.
09:30It gives the strength and the belief that we can compete in these levels,
09:37and that it's a matter of consistency.
09:40There cannot be a level Spurs-Everton, and now again United.
09:46If we can get that consistent, then the team showed today
09:52that they are capable of reaching high levels.
09:56Sorry, I know your mind is obviously fully focused on yesterday,
10:01you would have been very disappointed with the loss,
10:04but coming back to Old Trafford again as a Premier League manager,
10:08managing in the FA Cup, what were some of the emotions
10:11in terms of coming back to a place where you had so much success,
10:15the fans hold you at such high esteem, all that life coming back as a manager?
10:20I have to say I was so determined and focused to perform here with the team
10:27that I really blanked everything out.
10:33Coming in here, driving into Old Trafford and everything around me,
10:40I just completely blanked it all out.
10:45I wanted to focus on my team, on the last final preparations,
10:49before the warm-up, after the warm-up, in half-time, after the game,
10:53closing the game down with the team, complimenting them with their efforts and performance.
10:59Of course, now when things sink in, it's always special to come here.
11:05One, to represent Leicester City in the FA Cup,
11:08and representing the club is a proud moment,
11:12and coming back to United and welcomed again, it's a privilege.
11:23And also by our own fans, the away fans were supporting us in a great way too.
11:30Now it sinks in a little bit.
11:34Last one, sorry.
11:42No, it's been enough.
11:45It's been OK. Let's go home now. Thanks, guys.