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2 days ago
8 Ruben Amorim is preparing to take charge of his first Manchester United training session today – a week since he officially got to work as Erik ten Hag’s successor.
Indeed, the new head coach arrived at Carrington this time last week for the first time since signing off on his two-and-a-half-year deal with the Reds.
One of his first points of call, especially given that it was the international break, was to make a decision on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s future, who had returned to his former club in the summer to work alongside Ten Hag as an assistant coach. Even at the time of his appointment, plenty of fans had anticipated that he’d be taking the reins when Ten Hag would eventually be sacked, and that indeed became the case at the end of October.
Credit where credit’s due, Van Nistelrooy steadied the ship at Old Trafford. Fans weren’t expecting miracles after the dismal start to the season they’d endured, but three wins and a draw saw United tally 11 goals while conceding only three.
He also managed to do something Ten Hag had failed to do throughout the entirety of his tenure: watch the side score five+ goals against Premier League opposition. United did so in the first 59 minutes of Van Nistelrooy’s reign in their League Cup thrashing over Leicester City (5-2).
Amorim opted against keeping Van Nistelrooy in his coaching staff
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)Alas, it raised the eyebrows of some when it was confirmed the ex-Netherlands international would be leaving the club altogether last week. Amorim had already advocated to have his coaching entourage follow him to Manchester, leaving no place for Van Nistelrooy or Rene Hake to continue in their roles.
You can understand his reasoning, even if it is bittersweet to bid farewell to a legend. Amorim has been chosen to kickstart a completely clean slate following Ten Hag’s tenure, and doing so with an ex-manager’s staff around wouldn’t really make a whole lot of sense.
That hasn’t stopped Van Nistelrooy from being ‘devastated’ by his dismissal, though. The Mirror claims he was hopeful of staying at United in some capacity, with close friend Andre Ooijer telling the outlet: “Ruud wanted to stay as an assistant. He would have said something if he wasn’t interested in working with Amorim. Ruud has had the chance to be manager or head coach at other clubs, but he deliberately did not take those jobs because he wanted to work at the club he loves most.
“Don’t forget Ruud did really well at United, a draw against Chelsea and victories in the other three matches. You could tell the fans liked him so much. You only had to watch how they reacted to him after his last match. He did so well under difficult circumstances.
“He has stayed unbeaten as a manager. If Amorim does not get the right results in the first few games, the crowd could start calling again for Ruud.”
Truth be told, if match-goers do start singing Van Nistelrooy’s game after the break, it won’t be a call for him to return to the dugout. His chant is often bellowed out in the stands, and now it’d be as a token of appreciation for his efforts as both a player and a manager!
