Ruud van Nistelrooy says Erik ten Hag agrees with him on reason for Manchester United sacking

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Ruud van Nistelrooy has held his first press conference as Manchester United interim manager.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s time as Manchester United interim boss is continuing past his opening game in charge against Leicester City.

Van Nistelrooy led United to a 5-2 win over Leicester, booking a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Tottenham, which Ruben Amorim will be in charge for.

This coming weekend, Van Nistelrooy is expected to remain in charge against Chelsea. The expectation now is that Amorim will only take charge later in November.

Ruud van Nistelrooy on Erik ten Hag

Van Nistelrooy came in as part of Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff in the summer, and expressed sadness at the manager’s sacking.

He said he had been in touch with Ten Hag since his firing, and the pair agreed that results had simply not been up to scratch, and understood the reason behind it.

Van Nistelrooy explained at his press conference: “Yes, I’ve seen him Monday here and I spoke to him yesterday before the game.

“Obviously very disappointed and touched because he really cared for the club.”

He added: “I think in the end it’s also clear in football that it’s the results. Erik also said [that]. As you say, in pre-season, we had the new style, we were all very positive and working very hard to bring the club forward.”

Van Nistelrooy pointed out Manchester United’s disallowed goal against Brighton as a turning point back in August. This would have given United a 2-1 lead, and ended in a 2-1 loss.

He said: “There’s also things you can’t explain sometimes. The Brighton goal we scored, Garna via Josh in. There’s been so many games where we felt we could get a better result for the way we played.

“I’m talking Palace, I’m talking West Ham, talking Fenerbahce, talking Porto. But in the end we also know it’s about results this game and that’s part of our jobs.”

Van Nistelrooy open to discussions

Van Nistelrooy was asked about staying on at the club once his interim spell comes to an end.

This will be as much as part of Ruben Amorim’s decision as his, and he gave a diplomatic response to the question.

“We will see but it’s a contract situation that I’m in and my desire to help the club forward so I can speak to you about my side of this story and after that, when the new situation is occurring, when the new manager is signing and conversations take place, we have to see how things develop.”

He added that he is ‘motivated’ to help the club succeed: “I decided to come back here for a very important reason – I’m here as an assistant to help the club forward.

“I’m still very motivated to do so in any capacity. As an assistant and now as an interim manager, and after that I go back to my assistant contract that I have here for this season and next. I’m very motivated to stay here and help the club forward. That’s my absolute goal.”