Despite starting his tenure as Leicester City coach in perfect fashion, Ruud van Nistelrooy is under no illusion about the challenges that lie ahead in the English Premier League.
Leicester beat West Ham 3-1 on Tuesday, in Van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge since he left Manchester United.
Jamie Vardy scored the opener in the second minute, before Bilal El Khannouss doubled his team’s lead on the hour mark.
The romp was completed when Patson Daka made it 3-0 in the 90th minute, as The Hammers grabbed a consolation goal moments later as Niclas Fullkrug got his name on the scoresheet.
It was a quite incredible game of football as West Ham had no less than 31 shots on goal, to just the eight of Leicester.
‘We need to get better’
"On a long-term basis we know the performances need to get better,” said Van Nistelrooy after his side’s victory at King Power Stadium.
“But the spirit and how we want to do things we saw today because, if not, the Premier League is too brutal.
"In the end you look at the result and the three points, in the position that we are in, it's vital. With the other fixtures of this round we knew it was a big one for us.
"The result is what matters but I have also seen the game and West Ham were dominant. I think our fighting spirit got us through the game and we were effective in scoring. A great night.
As soon as Ruben Amorim was appointed as the new Manchester United coach last month, Van Nistelrooy was swiftly shown the door by the club and that left the former Red Devils striker somewhat dejected.
After Erik ten Hag was sacked, Van Nistelrooy took charge of United on an interim basis.
Amorim assumed his new role on November 11, and the next day it was confirmed that Van Nistelrooy would be leaving the club.