Man Utd legend feels ‘great honour’ after Ten Hag sacking; calls for ‘togetherness’
As is often usually the case every two years at Old Trafford, a new man will be in the dugout for Manchester United’s fixture against Leicester City.
After the sacking of Erik ten Hag on Monday, United are pursuing Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim, though no complete agreement has been struck yet.
United‘s statement to confirm Ten Hag had been let go of also revealed assistant manager and club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy would be taking interim charge until the hierarchy had found a successor to Ten Hag.
Van Nistelrooy only returned to Old Trafford in the summer after a coaching shakeup which saw Ten Hag bring in a host of new coaches across the department.
In the match day programme for the Leicester game, Van Nistelrooy said: “As I am sure everyone can imagine, I am writing these notes with a huge amount of mixed emotions. Erik ten Hag brought me back to Manchester United in the summer and, while I have only been part of the coaching staff here for a few months, I will always be grateful to him for giving me the opportunity, and I am saddened to see him leave.
“Even on an interim basis, it is a great honour to manage the club I love for however long I am asked to do so. I can promise that I will continue to give my all, in whatever capacity, to try to turn around our fortunes.”
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Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, Van Nistelrooy becomes the fourth former player to manage United, albeit a very brief spell. Ryan Giggs took interim charge after David Moyes had been sacked, while Michael Carrick led the team out after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been fired.
Although Van Nistelrooy is a club legend who has been greeted with warmth since his return, fans will be hoping for the Dutchman not to be granted the job on a permanent after seeing how things ended with Solskjaer.
Van Nistelrooy made sure to note the fans appreciation towards him. He said: “Despite our results, I am loving being back at Old Trafford and working with the team and staff every day. We’ve seen the squad’s potential at times this season, but clearly not often enough.
“Now is the time for everyone at the club to work together, give everything and turn this season around while we have time. From my experiences as both a player and a coach here, I can say for sure that when players, staff and supporters pull together, Manchester United can be unstoppable.”
Van Nistelrooy made 219 appearances for United, scoring 150 goals in that time, departing in the summer of 2006.
