Netherlands legends Rene van de Kerkhof and Willem van Hanegem have been far from impressed by the job Ruud van Nistelrooy has been doing as PSV manager.
Van Nistelrooy made a strong start to his senior managerial career, beating Ajax to win the Johan Cruijff Schaal, overcoming Monaco in Champions League qualifying and picking up comfortable victories in the first Eredivisie matches.
Things have gone downhill since though with Rangers prevailing in the Champions League play-off, FC Twente beating his side 2-1, Bodo/Glimt holding them to a draw and RKC Waalwijk so nearly doing the same at the weekend.
Discussing the latter match, which PSV only won thanks to a 96th-minute Cody Gakpo penalty, Van de Kerkhof was critical of Van Nistelrooy and his team.
“It was very, very mediocre from PSV, A bit unworthy of PSV… I can’t name one player who was in form on Sunday, so they got away with it in the last minute,” Rene said as per Omroep Brabant.
“PSV are just playing a lot less football at the moment than they did at the start. Van Nistelrooy says we are making steps. Well, I think steps backwards at the moment. It’s unbearable, something really has to happen.”
Van Hanegem meanwhile, in his column for Algemeen Dagblad, said that the manager doesn’t have the same winning mentality he had as a player.
“I know Ruud van Nistelrooij as a pure winner,” he wrote.
“When I experienced him with the Dutch national team he was chasing everyone, arguing with people who preferred to take a breath of fresh air rather than work.
“‘The team takes giant steps,’ he claps and shouts himself silly, and when it’s over he doesn’t leave the field until he has thanked everyone on the field and in the stands.
“Trainers sometimes get stupid questions, but portraying RKC as a kind of Real Madrid is also nonsense. It’s probably his way, but people are not crazy and see a struggling PSV.”
GBeNeFN
