The former Manchester United coach was named Foxes manager on Friday afternoon.
“I’m proud, I’m excited,” he told Leicester's website, speaking from his home in Eindhoven. “Everybody that I speak to about Leicester City Football Club is enthusiastic, has great stories about the quality of the people working at the Club, the supporters, also of course, the recent history of the Club is impressive. I’m dead excited to start and to get to know everyone and give everything I can for the Football Club.
“It’s also something I hear a lot about. I can’t wait to find that out, to be part of the Club, in a manager role, which is a big responsibility. I take it very seriously. Also, getting to know everybody, the community and the supporters, I can only imagine what it means to them. I want to feel it. I want to get started and get to know everybody and take time to invest in the relationship with all the other departments and community of the Football Club. That can make us a really strong movement to go forward and get results.
“Of course, when you’re in football a long time, you know so many people and that’s why I said about the stories about the Club and its people and its supporters. That’s always positive. It’s a stable club, you can see within the leadership structures that it’s all good and organised and with an idea. Also, the squad, of course, is exciting with young emerging talents, also experienced players… a good mixture. I can’t wait to get on the pitch and start with them.”
On the make-up of the squad, the Dutchman continued: “I think the depth of the squad is very good as well.
“There are two players in every position of good quality. There’s young, emerging talents, with very experienced players and, obviously, the captain, Jamie Vardy, has the most experience and the character. He’s the face of the Football Club. As a former striker, I can’t wait to work together with him as well.
“Preparing those two games against Leicester, that’s where you get to study the opponent, and their qualities – and also where you can hurt them. Of course, that gave a broader picture of the squad and the team, and the behaviours of the players. After that, the interest was shown, and I started to look even further into the games and looking to improve. Where can we improve and where do we have to improve to stabilise, to start growing, to start collecting more points? That’s what I did, and I trust the squad that we can manage that.
“A lot of principles and structures that I see, on the ball and off the ball, are structures that I use a lot myself as the PSV manager and at United. Not all of them, of course, but many of them. The way Leicester City played under (Enzo) Maresca, winning the Championship and going into the Premier League, I see also that line continuing in those structures and the idea of playing.
“I can plug into that. I relate to those structures and way of playing. Playing out from the back when we can, going forward in the attack and playing forward, and creating chances is, of course, the main goal when the opponent allows you to. Obviously, you have to see how the defensive structures are. I can plug in there and take some new ideas, but a good framework is there, and then it’s about getting better… going to the training pitch and improving altogether and translating it into points.
“Sometimes it will be against an opponent that is better, but you have to find a way to win any game. Sometimes you need to be more defensive and play on the counter-attack. Of course, when you have it, you play, and in other, you try to dominate and make the game yourself. We’ll approach every game with one idea – and that’s to win.”
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