'He sounds super proud to take this job'published at 15:47 GMT 3 December 2024

On the latest episode of the When You're Smiling podcast, former Foxes winger Matt Piper discusses Ruud van Nistelrooy's appointment: "He handles himself well. He is an impressive guy, who has had an impressive career. He was one of the players who won everything at Manchester United and it was easy to look at the group and hate a lot of them, but him I’m not just saying this because he’s now our manager, I was really impressed with him on and off the pitch. He’s calm under pressure and it was a super impressive press conference. He sounds super proud to take this job and it’s his first job in the Premier League. I don’t want to get too excited too early, but I’m really excited to have him as our gaffer.
"You could hear that in his answers [that he wants this job]. Leicester's form isn't great. There’s a feeling of doom and gloom around this club. Leicester is a big club. We’ve got a wonderful training ground, great owners and the staff are absolutely brilliant. We’ve got a rich history. Leicester is a big club. We’ve won the Premier League and the FA Cup recently. He should be proud."
Rob Tanner on the similarities between Enzo Maresca and Van Nistelrooy: "It's not the first time he’s mentioned Maresca. They were former team-mates and are two managers with similar philosophies. They spoke after Chelsea played United for about half an hour and discussed Leicester before they even made the approach and spoke again when Leicester made that contact. Listening to him there are similarities there. All the players looked up to Enzo for what he achieved playing at Juventus, working with Pep [Guardiola], the trophies that he’s won, so there was Instant respect. I think Ruud will get the same. I think they're going to connect with him.
"This is an appointment that really should have happened in the summer. There's a common denominator between the two, which is that Manuel Pellegrini has been a big influence on Enzo and Ruud. He’s managed them and mentored them both and on his year out Ruud spent some time with Pellegrini at Real Betis. I’m excited by this appointment and I hope it works out. There's so much at stake for Leicester and relegation would be a disaster."
Listen to the full podcast here on BBC Sounds
