The Leicester City manager has received an offer of assistance from a former Manchester United and international teammate.
In an attempt to keep Leicester City from relegation, former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam has stated that he might be amenable to joining Ruud van Nistelrooy’s coaching staff.
Just a few weeks after United’s successful four-game interim stint, Van Nistelrooy took over as manager at the King Power Stadium in early December, succeeding Steve Cooper. Things have been more difficult in recent weeks following an initial improvement in form during which the Foxes gained four points from their first two games under the former striker’s leadership.
Leicester has lost all seven of its recent league games, even though some of their efforts likely deserved better. The only respite was earlier this month, when they defeated Championship QPR 6-2 in the FA Cup third round.
Due to the outcome, Leicester is now two points outside of safety in 19th place in the Premier League standings. Their next game is an away match against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
Van Nistelrooy has had issues with his defence, among other things. This season, Leicester has only managed one Premier League clean sheet, and they continue to give up goals due to individual errors.
Stam, a former defender, has now volunteered his assistance. Stam said, “Yes,” when asked on Viaplay if he would be open to accepting an assistant management position at Leicester.
He said, seemingly taken aback by the presenter, “Didn’t you expect that?” Before making a joke: “Perhaps I can still play a ball after two weeks of training.”
“If Ruud were to call, I would certainly do so,” he continued gravely.
The 52-year-old was hired in the summer and is currently the manager of Dutch team DOS Kampen. He has held the positions of manager of Reading, Feyenoord, and Cincinnati in the past.
Only a few weeks separated Stam and Van Nistelrooy’s playing careers at United. Stam departed the club in late August 2001, while Van Nistelrooy joined in early July.
Nonetheless, the two would have joined the Netherlands to play on the international scene. In what were Stam’s final games for his country, both players started every match at Euro 2004 and helped the Netherlands advance to the tournament’s semi-final.
