Brentford 4-1 Leicester: Ruud Van Nistelrooy watches on in horror as Kevin Schade’s hattrick leaves Foxes clinging to safety just one point above the relegation zone

Sorry, Ruud, it’s too late to back out now. The contract’s signed, you’ve posed for photos, said the usual platitudes about being excited for the challenge ahead. 

If it wasn’t already dawning on you that managing this Leicester City side to safety might be a different kettle of fish to riding the crest of a wave with Manchester United for a few games, then it certainly will be now. 

That’s if managing Leicester to safety is indeed their new boss Ruud van Nistelrooy’s remit. After all, Steve Cooper, a capable Premier League manager, was sacked with the Foxes outside the relegation zone and going at almost a point per game. 

But even if the expectations on Van Nistelrooy are as low as conceivably possible, this will have been a disturbing watch for the Dutchman. He was in the stands here at the Gtech Community Stadium, and will have been utterly dismayed by what he saw. 

An extremely defensive Leicester side still looked all at the sea at the back. When they occasionally got the ball, too often it was promptly given straight back to Brentford. And despite taking the lead against the run of play, eight minutes later they trailed, as their players caved in and Brentford ran all over them. 

Kevin Schade scored a hat-trick, and set up the other, and the home fans sang ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ to a manager yet to even take charge. ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt,’ the away supporters’ riposte to their players. 

Kevin Schade scored a stunning hattrick to condemn Leicester to a huge defeat on Saturday

Facundo Buonanotte initially opened the scoring to give Leicester a surprise lead at the Gtech

There were a few vanishingly thin bright spots for Van Nistelrooy, who cut a glum figure when the cameras here cut to him increasingly as the game wore on and Leicester collapsed. Jamie Vardy looked sharp. Winger Facundo Buonanotte is a real talent and scored on his return from suspension. 

Mads Hermansen somehow kept the score down to four. And he will place more emphasis on his side’s showing against West Ham on Tuesday, his first game in charge. By then he will have had some time, albeit not much, with his new players on the training ground. But if this game was anything to go by, he will need to make the most of it. 

Leicester caretaker Ben Dawson found out he’d be taking the team this week while on a family trip to laser tag. All eyes were on a different sharpshooter today though, and Van Nistelrooy arrived at the Gtech with Leicester owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, stopping for selfies with supporters on his way to the stands. 

Leicester’s players have come in for criticism — not least from Srivaddhanaprabha— after an ill-advised Christmas jolly-up in Copenhagen this week. 

Harry Winks was in that travelling party, quite literally, and spent much of it dressed as an Oompa Loompa. He missed out with a groin issue here — picked up in the loss to Chelsea, rather than his part in a moralising dance routine, rest assured. 

Whether or not it was Van Nistelrooy’s influence remains to be seen, but Leicester switched to a back three for the first time this season. In truth it was more of a back five, with two defensive midfielders in Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumare sat in front of it, too.

Brentford have made a habit of rapid starts this season and it took something special from Hermansen to prevent an early goal here. The Dane leapt brilliantly to tip over Schade’s header, which looked bound for the top corner. 

Instead it was Leicester who took the lead against the run of play in the 21st minute. Vardy outmuscled Ethan Pinnock in the box then teed up Buonanotte for a tap-in. Their lead lasted just a few minutes though, Yoane Wissa levelling after Schade broke down the left and found the Frenchman with a low cross. 

Yoanne Wissa led Brentford’s comeback and equalised just minutes after the Foxes took the lead

Schade celebrated with his Brentford team-mates after scoring a brilliant hattrick

Leicester defender Wout Faes cuts a dejected figure as Brentford dominated the second-half

And it went from bad to worse for the Foxes before long. Provider turned poacher as Schade found himself unmarked in the box and fired home. Leicester had gone from leading to trailing in just four minutes. 

Schade had his second in first-half stoppage time as Brentford’s dominance finally got the scoreline it deserved. Mikkel Damsgaard played a lovely, incisive pass into the box and Schade beat Hermansen from a tight angle. 

It was the same story after half-time, and Schade completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute. Sent through by Nathan Collins, the German slotted past Hermansen for his first treble in senior football. 

Hermansen was called into action a few more times as Brentford pushed for more despite making a raft of substitutions. But the damage was done — the challenge now for Van Nistelrooy is to see what he can salvage from the wreckage. This was a Ruud awakening for the task that lies ahead.