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EPL It is early in the Ruud van Nistelrooy era at Leicester City but already it is clear he has a way he wants his new side to play. The Dutchman even revealed his plan in his first press conference before the 3-1 win over West Ham United earlier this month. “It will be 4-4-2 out of possession and a 3-box-3 with the ball, ” he told reporters. Advertisement Sure enough, against West Ham at the King Power Stadium in his first game, that was exactly how his side shaped up, despite having just two training sessions to work on it. Here we take a look at how that has looked in practice. As we can see in the opening two minutes against West Ham, Leicester moved to a back three when they had possession, with Victor Kristiansen moving high on the left to provide the width on one flank while Kasey Mc Ateer stayed wide on the other side. In the middle,  summer signing Bilal El Khannouss, who began the game on the left but came inside, formed the top left of the box alongside Facundo Buonanotte, who started as the No 10 in behind Jamie Vardy, on the right. Behind them were the two No 6s — Boubakary Soumare and Wilfred Ndidi — who sat in front of the back three at the bottom of the box. This is to provide the insurance of a defensive five should attacks break down and a counter-attack is launched. In this example in which the box is formed, Kristiansen was the outlet and received the ball and he can play a simple pass inside to El Khannouss in space, who then releases Vardy. The striker was playing on the shoulder of the last defender in classic fashion and the pass sent him through to score just minutes into Van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge. This might look familiar to Leicester fans because previous manager Steve Cooper used a similar setup, although Van Nistelrooy wants his back three and the two holding midfielders to play narrower than they did under Cooper as they were far too open at times. There is still much to be done defensively as Leicester faced 31 shots from West Ham, 10 of which were on target. But Van Nistelrooy is working on giving Leicester a tighter defensive structure. Many Premier League sides play with a box midfield but start with different setups and have different routes to achieve the three-box-three. Advertisement Leicester under Enzo Maresca last season in the Championship would also use a box midfield, but instead of a high full-back becoming one of the front three and one of the wide players moving into become a second No 10, Ricardo Pereira would move into midfield from right back to join the lone midfield pivot Harry Winks. GO DEEPER What it's actually like to play as an 'inverted full-back' That left Leicester with two wide natural wingers — usually Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu — forming the front three with Vardy, and two No 8s in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (who moved, like Maresca, to Chelsea in the summer) and often Ndidi playing the channels. The idea of the box midfield is to outnumber the opposition in central areas, as often sides will play with a midfield three, but then also to lure another player out of position to cover the four, which can create space out wide. If one of the box players moves wide, it can create space for the central striker to drop deep, as Vardy used to do under Maresca. It is similar to the system used at Manchester City by Pep Guardiola and at Arsenal, managed by Mikel Arteta, another of Guardiola’s former assistants like Maresca. Those sides have, though, started with a 3-4-3. It is this work by Maresca, but also Cooper during his short spell, that means Van Nistelrooy can adopt the same approach with confidence the players were familiar with its concepts. “First and foremost, it’s important what players you have, ” Van Nistelrooy says. “It’s not about my structures. That’s not the most important thing. That was a positive for me coming here: I know the players can fit into this structure. “That is the most important thing to ask: can the players do it? Do they have the profiles to use these structures? Yes, we have and that’s why I think it’s a plus that we can. I can build on that. ” Van Nistelrooy may not be as rigid in his philosophy as other managers. He has said he is not a football romantic and the first consideration is always how can he win the game, so there is a level of flexibility. With Buonanotte ineligible to face parent club Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, Van Nistelrooy said before the game he could go like-for-like with another player or adapt his system. There was an improvement against Brighton from the West Ham game, with the visitors having 16 shots, seven of which were on target, but there was also some wasteful finishing. Advertisement “There are other options with players who can also do that role, ” he said before the match. “It is possible with the full-back coming in, then you leave a player on the side out, then the full-back will be on top of the box, or one of the No 6s can go high also and then you have the full-back in the No 6 position. “But it’s important you have the profile of a full-back who can do that. There are different options in the squad, with full-backs who can play high, or one low in the build-up three and the other one higher up. It gives good flexibility for us to adjust. ” As it transpired, he made a straight switch, bringing Jordan Ayew in for Buonanotte, but the Argentinian is expected to return for the trip to Newcastle United alongside El Khannouss. There is expected to be an enforced change at the base of the box, with Ndidi nursing a hamstring issue. Oliver Skipp or Winks, if fit, should slot straight in. As for the defensive shape, the 4-4-2 is also fashionable now, with the press being triggered by the front two, forcing the pass wide where the wingers can press quickly in wider areas where there is less room and traps can be set to create a turnover. Vardy is key with the initial press… It is not without risk and requires a lot of coordination because if those behind are slow to press on the follow-up, it is easy to bypass and the opposition now have numerical advantages. This is why Van Nistelrooy has spoken about energy and fitness being key to how he wants Leicester to play. For Van Nistelrooy, hunger, desire and effort are non-negotiables. It is early days but Van Nistelrooy is setting his stall out on how he wants Leicester to play — and it is on the front foot. (Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images) Get all-access to exclusive stories. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us. Rob has been a journalist for twenty years and for the past ten he has covered Leicester City, including their Premier League title success of 2016.

He is the author of 5000-1, The Leicester City Story. Follow Rob on Twitter @Rob Tanner LCFC