Leicester City have been condemned to an immediate return to the Championship after their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed with a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
It marks the second relegation in three years for Leicester, who earned an immediate return to the top flight last season as winners of the Championship.
It has been a struggle from the start this season, though, for the 2015-16 Premier League winners. They failed to win any of their first six games and sacked manager Steve Cooper after 15 games with the team in 16th position.
Leicester turned to former Man United assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy to steer the club to safety, but the appointment did nothing to turn around the team’s fortunes.
Leicester went into Sunday’s game as the first team in England’s top four divisions to lose eight consecutive home games without scoring a goal — the 1-0 loss taking that total to nine.
“We have to use this time to get better,” Van Nistelrooy said after the game. “The club will continue and it is my job to put the club in the best place possible.”
Asked when he will know whether he is staying on, Van Nistelrooy said: “I hope soon. The new season starts very soon and preparation needs to start to move forward.
“The sooner, the better.”
Leicester’s display on Sunday had some positives, but relegation has felt inevitable for months.
“I’m very disappointed that it’s a definite now. We kept hoping and fighting, but over the last weeks we saw the gap growing,” Van Nistelrooy said. “Then you see it coming, although we never gave up and we shifted the focus towards the future to use these games and finish the season as best as possible.
“Next season the Championship will start and it is my job to do the best things possible for the club. I’m working in the coming weeks, it is my job to do everything in the best interests of Leicester City.
“I’m waiting on the clarity of the club and how they want to continue. It is the goal to lead the club.”
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