Ruud van Nistelrooy keen to ensure Leicester have bright future after relegation
Foxes boss hoping for positive finish to the season
Last updated 17th May 2025
Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy hopes to be able to take some positives from the end of a miserable Premier League campaign as the club start to shape the future.
The Foxes host Ipswich on Sunday, with both teams set to be back in the Sky Bet Championship again next season.
The focus at the King Power Stadium will be centred on Jamie Vardy's 500th and final appearance for Leicester, as the former England striker waves goodbye after 13 years.
Van Nistelrooy, though, feels everyone must also try to look forward.
"It is important, like I addressed five or six weeks ago, where you start shaping the future, that in all the games we are going to play, we must make the most of it," the Leicester boss said.
"With Southampton and now Ipswich, we know we are going to face them next season (in the Championship), so it is also an extra motivation to do well."
Van Nistelrooy, whose own future remains uncertain, told a press conference: "It is visible in performances and in points, in goals scored and in goals conceded. I am happy with that development.
"Since the Brighton game (a 2-2 draw), there has been that development, there has been those performances.
"Of course, we can't take away the disappointment of relegation, but I am happy with that development and how the players have been performing.
"It is also something that reflects in the stands, in our away games and at home, also against Liverpool and Southampton, those were positives.
"We want to finish the season as good as we can, get positives on the pitch as much as we can and that is our task."
Vardy played a lead role in Leicester's unlikely Premier League title triumph and also won the FA Cup in 2021.
The 38-year-old is, though, not set to be involved for the final game of the season at Bournemouth.
"It was clear in his announcement that he would play his last game against Ipswich and that's what we respect," van Nistelrooy said.
"He has been a great captain and has been supportive since my arrival. The six months we have been working together have been tough, it has been rough.
"He has always been a great leader and always wanting to improve and to keep going and to take responsibility. He is the captain you want."