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In his final message as Manchester United’s interim manager, Ruud van Nistelrooy reportedly asked his players to back Ruben Amorim.
Van Nistelrooy returned to United ahead of the new season to assist Erik ten Hag despite an impressive stint at PSV as their manager. However, INEOS’s decision to shake up Ten Hag’s backroom staff didn’t yield the desired results, and the Dutchman was eventually shown the exit door.
The former striker was given the responsibility to lead the Red Devils on an interim basis. He did a commendable job of steadying the ship, as United remained unbeaten and won three of their four games under his tutelage.
According to The Sun, the fan favourite urged his players to “get behind” Amorim and “work hard to bring back the glory days under the new boss” before signing off as interim manager with a 3-0 win over Leicester City.
A source supposedly told the outlet that the club legend was keen on staying at United but at the same time understood that Amorim might have his own ideas.
The source added: “He told the players he was very happy to have come back and to have had the chance to manage the club for four games. It has helped his managerial career, increased his already strong ties with United and he hasn’t given up on the idea that he might be back one day.
“He made all that clear to the players and demanded that they give their all to the new manager.”
The Sun previously reported that the first team squad also wanted Van Nistelrooy to remain at Carrington under Amorim.
However, Amorim clearly had different plans. He arrived at Carrington on Monday, and within hours it was announced that Van Nistelrooy as well as Rene Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar, and Pieter Morel had left the club.
The Portuguese tactician enjoyed a remarkable level of success at Sporting CP with his trusted staff, who are expected to be part of his project in Manchester.
It is understood that Carlos Fernandes, Emanuel Ferro, Adelio Candido, Jorge Vital, and Paulo Barreira will form the new United boss’s backroom staff.
Interestingly, Amorim is set to keep Darren Fletcher and Andreas Georgson. The former has been at United since 2020 and the latter was added to the club’s staff by technical director Jason Wilcox in the summer.
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