Ruud van Nistelrooy is off to a great start as Manchester United manager but his interim spell is likely to be for four games as Ruben Amorim is set to arrive.
Van Nistelrooy’s duty so far has just been “Don’t be Erik ten Hag” and he fulfilled it perfectly vs Leicester but a tough game vs Chelsea is on the horizon, with PAOK and Leicester in the league waiting afterward.
Ruben Amorim will likely be Man Utd manager after the international break, with his first game as manager against Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich in a match with many storylines.
It is likely that he takes over a team that has momentum again, especially if Van Nistelrooy can keep this momentum going to win vs Chelsea.
The expectations from Amorim to hit the ground running will be a bit higher then but Paul Merson still says he will be ‘knighted by our king’ if he manages to do one thing this season.
Paul Merson on Ruben Amorim at Man Utd
The media coverage has predictably been dominated by Amorim’s potential move to United and the Portuguese will get a taste quickly of how intense the pressure is at the club.
Merson chipped in with his take and gave his perspective on Amorim’s career so far and how it changes at Man Utd.
Merson said: “He’s done absolutely amazing at Sporting. I spoke to a cab driver last year who was a big Sporting fan and he was going mad about him, how great he was, and how he turned the club around.
“This is going to be different, with all due respect to Sporting. Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world and this is where it all starts. They are not the biggest football team in the world but they are one of the biggest clubs.
“It will be different for him and there’s a lot of work to be done but he’s coming in with massive expectations after doing so well at Sporting. This is another five steps up from Sporting.”
Merson added that Van Nistelrooy could be making a case to be kept on with some wins in his interim time but the Amorim deal looks done and dusted.
Ruben Amorim ‘will be knighted’ if he gets top-four: Merson
With the team 14th in the league and 21st in the Europa League, the pressure is almost off in a way because everyone is under the assumption that it can’t get any worse.
Even in bad results, United were creating chances under Ten Hag and the game vs Leicester was an example of what can happen when the chances are taken.
As it stands, United are seven points away from the top-four and the same distance from the relegation spots so the expectation won’t be very high for Amorim.
Merson said: “I think they have to beat Chelsea at the weekend to start with. I’d be surprised if they got top four. I think you can put Pep Guardiola in charge at Man United and even he would struggle to turn it around that much.
“It’s going to take time. They have to build and build and have a plan where, in three to four years’ time, Man Utd are back to where they should be, fighting for league titles.
“At the moment, if they got top four, Amorim has pulled up trees and would get knighted by our king!”.
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