Ruud van Nistelrooy has said he would like to take charge of Manchester United on a permanent basis in the future but is committed to stay as an assistant to incoming head coach, Rúben Amorim, after a four-game spell in caretaker charge.
Van Nistelrooy heads into his final match as interim head coach unbeaten after two wins and a draw and will be optimistic of adding three more points to his tally when Leicester visit Old Trafford on Sunday having already beaten them there 5-2 in the Carabao Cup.
“Of course,” Van Nistelrooy said when asked if he would want to return to the United hot seat one day. “I thought this through well when I made the decision to come to Manchester United as an assistant manager or assistant coach. I thought that through and I knew that coming to Manchester United was for me a special occasion where I felt I wanted to be part of this journey with the club in also an assistant role. I had clear ambitions to manage, I made the decision to sign a two-year deal as an assistant and I’m still in that frame of mind to be fair, to stay in that capacity.”
Amorim starts work on Monday and will hold talks with Van Nistelrooy about the Dutchman’s role at United. The Portuguese will have almost a fortnight to plan for his first match in charge away against Ipswich, although most of his players will be on international duty for the majority of that period.
One key area for Amorim to address is a lack of goals. Thirteenth-placed United have scored nine times in 10 Premier League games and will need to improve that record if they are to move up the table. “When you want to be a successful side in the Premier League and in Europe, you’re going to need a certain amount of goals,” Van Nistelrooy said. “That’s why the best teams in the world have those players. At the moment we have players who get a certain amount of goals or assists but obviously they are in an age when they have to be developed, and there’s potential that they will be, and the belief is they can. In this moment that’s where we are.”
United were handed a boost on Friday with the return of Luke Shaw to training. The left-back has not played for the club since February, however he will not be available for Sunday’s game.
The United coach Darren Fletcher has been banned from the touchline for three games for his behaviour at half-time against Brentford in October. A Football Association independent regulatory commission found that he had “acted in an improper and/or confrontational manner and/or that he used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official and the referee and/or assistant referees around the tunnel area”. The club hopes to reduce the ban on appeal.
