Ruud van Nistelrooy yet to speak with Ruben Amorim about Manchester United future

Photo by Sky Sports

Ruud van Nistelrooy will take interim charge of two more Manchester United games after watching his side draw 1-1 with Chelsea on Sunday.

It remains to be seen if the Dutchman will leave the club once Ruben Amorim arrives. The arrival of a new manager or head coach usually sees a shake-up in the coaching department.

However, Van Nistelrooy has revealed he has not spoken to incoming Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim after leading the Reds to a point against Chelsea on Sunday.

The draw with Chelsea was Van Nistelrooy’s first Premier League game as interim manager. Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot in the 70th minute after Robert Sanchez committed a clumsy challenge on Rasmus Hojlund inside the box.

Chelsea levelled four minutes later through Moises Caicedo as both teams got a share of the spoils at Old Trafford.

Van Nistelrooy will oversee the next two matches against PAOK in the Europa League and Leicester City before Amorim starts work at Carrington on November 11.

“Over the coming days we will be in communication, and I am waiting for that,” Van Nistelrooy told Sky Sports.

“What is more important is that we are in training tomorrow and prepare for the game on Thursday. I haven’t spoken to him [Amorim] yet, but it will happen.

“You saw today that we competed well against a very good side. This is the way forward for this group of players.”

Footage courtesy of Sky Sports

United now have just 12 points to show for their first 10 games in the Premier League. A worrying record but it’s one for Amorim to set straight when he arrives as head coach.

Van Nistelrooy wanted a win; Manchester United’s worst league start since 1986

Van Nistelrooy's Manchester United unable to beat Chelsea at Old Trafford
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

It’s our worst start to a league season since 1986-87 when we had just eight points after the first 10 matches.

The Reds’ total of nine goals is our fewest at this stage of a league campaign since 1973-74, but Van Nistelrooy was happy with the display against Chelsea on Sunday.

“I am disappointed we didn’t win, we had the better of the chances in the game. But overall the performance was fantastic. They left their all out there on the pitch,” he added.

“It was a great moment, the goal, when Old Trafford explodes. Bruno Fernandes did well taking it and the emotion came out.

“This week has been special, I have enjoyed every second of it. I am here to help and will get behind the new manager and make sure the club grows.

“We are behind the new manager, everyone at the new club is focusing on the two games that are very important, but then we will work hard to make this club better every day.”

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1 Comment

  1. How about Ruud van Nistelrooy as ‘Player Mentor’?

    In many realms of professional development, there are mechanisms to assist a young professional to maintain perspective, remain focussed on the right things and solve problems without the daunting prospect of airing doubts and misgivings to line management (such as one’s immediate supervisor). These mechanisms are valuable, especially to optimise personal development and assist growth of a positive organisational culture because they allow an outlet (that the person knows won’t be held against them) while often reducing the potential for conflict.

    We generally call this ‘mentoring’; a concept as equally applicable to football as any other endeavour, in my opinion.

    Whilst team mates might offer an outlet, a fellow teenager or 20-something may not have the experience or maturity to offer the best advice. And while the manager/coaching staff has an important place in offering advice, it’s not uncommon for a young professonal to want to seek an opinion where they can talk more freely to someone with extensive experience of similar circumstances. I don’t see football as being any different.

    It’s probably not surprising that the highest performing teams have the kind of strong, positive culture that allows honest feedback – one that incorporates lessons learned at all levels and allows adaptation as it progresses. The challenge in organisational leadership and management is in continuing to deliver required outcomes, efficiently using resources and maintaining high levels of individual and team motivation and performance while that occurs. The challenge for the individual is to tailor their feedback toward improvement, development and performance without damaging team cohesion and morale.

    Nevetheless, even a high performing team, with close and effective leadership and management, will still likely have imperfections. Mentoring can still offer significant value.

    The role of mentor is a tricky one. It must be outside of line management (the immediate chain of command) and the further away the better. However, a mentor still needs to have much overlapping experience and be close enough to understand the mentoree’s cicumstances. The mentor must also maintain strict confidentiality.

    When I look at Man Utd, and ponder the question of mentoring, Ruud van Nistelrooy stands out as an excellent candidate for the role of player mentor. Not only does he have recent management experience, now at two clubs, but he is a Man Utd icon with crediblity in spades. His love for the club is beyond question and he has an affinity for the players (apparent, at least, through the lens of television and sports journalism).

    So why not use this valuable resource? Put in place the management arrangements that will protect Ruben Amorim’s authority as head coach, and the authority of other coaches across the club, while RvN stays on in a distinct and separate role as player mentor across the first team, youth teams and academy. This might mean that RvN would report to the CEO, Omar Berrada, rather than to Dan Ashworth. It would, of course, be critical that the mentor not undermine the head coach’s methods; a mentor’s advice needs to be finely calibrated to support professional development and gaining perspective while not seeking to interfere with the day-to-day running of any team.

    It’s a thought but one which I hope that Man Utd will consider when determining how to best use the incredibly valuable resources they have.

    And apologies for the essay-length comment.

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