Ruud van Nistelrooy will not be part of Ruben Amorims coaching staff and has left Manchester United. Van Nistelrooy was appointed as assistant manager in the summer and became interim head coach when former United boss Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.
He signed off in style by beating Leicester 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday to stay unbeaten in his four games in charge, but the club confirmed his departure on Monday as Amorim arrived to begin his time at the helm.
Man Utd fixtures: How the Ruben Amorim era beginsLive Premier League table | Watch PL highlights for freeStream Amorims first game vs Ipswich with NOW Ruud is and always will be a Manchester United legend, the club said.
We are grateful for his contribution and the way in which he approached his role throughout his time with the club. He will always be very welcome at Old Trafford.Assistant manager Rene Hake, goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar and analyst Pieter Morel have also left the club.
Analysis: Amorim acts decisively with first big call Sky Sports Zinny Boswell: This was the first big call for Amorim to make as United boss and he acted decisively. Van Nistelrooy made it clear he would like to continue helping at Old Trafford and had the backing of the players, but Amorim wasted no time in jettisoning a club legend.
The key issues for Amorim to address at Man UtdIt was always going to be difficult for Van Nistelrooy to be kept on after saying he would one day like the job that Amorim has just taken up. We saw under Ten Hag that the presence of Van Nistelrooy in the dugout always felt ominous.
This was the man in charge of PSV, one of Netherlands biggest clubs, as recently as last year. Van Nistelrooy feels like a head coach. His impressive handling of the situation he inherited from Ten Hag had only added to his plausibility as such.
Van Nistelrooy, particularly in his dealings with the media, almost did too well. Keeping him on may have brought added pressure for Amorim. Amorim is also expected to bring a whole team of his own people from Sporting, leaving it unclear where Van Nistelrooy would have fitted had he stayed.
The Dutchman wanted to help, but would he have been happy on the periphery? There is, of course, the argument Van Nistelrooy knows the club well and has had a first-hand view of the squad since the summer, so could have been invaluable to Amorim, at the very least in the short-term.
But Darren Fletcher remains embedded in the set-up at United and serves a similar purpose without bringing the baggage of being a threat to his job if results go south. Amorims first day at CarringtonAmorim arrived at Man Utds Carrington training complex on Monday afternoon.
The 39-year-old boarded a flight from Beja airport in Portugal to Manchester in the morning. Amorim was greeted outside the mens first-team building with a hug from chief executive Omar Berrada, and was also welcomed by sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.
Amorims upcoming Man Utd fixturesIpswich (A) – Premier League – November 24, live on Sky Sports Bodo/Glimt (H) – Europa League – November 28 Everton (H) – Premier League – December 1 Arsenal (A) – Premier League – December 4 Nottingham Forest (H) – Premier League – December 7, live on Sky Sports Viktoria Plzen (A) – Europa League – December 12 Manchester City (A) – Premier League – December 15, live on Sky Sports Tottenham (A) – Carabao Cup – December 19, live on Sky Sports Bournemouth (H) – Premier League – December 22 Wolves (A) – Premier League – December 26 Newcastle (H) – Premier League – December 30, live on Sky Sports
