New Man Utd coach Ruud van Nistelrooy tipped to eventually take over from Erik ten Hag
New Manchester United coach Ruud van Nistelrooy is being tipped to take over from Erik ten Hag, with Dwight Yorke saying something “isn’t right”.
- Dutch boss handed contract extension
- Overseen Carabao Cup & FA Cup triumphs
- Now working with fellow countryman
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Red Devils have welcomed a familiar face back to Old Trafford as Van Nistelrooy joins the backroom team of fellow Dutchman Ten Hag. The former striker, who hit 150 goals for United across five seasons in his playing days, spent the 2022-23 campaign in charge of Eredivisie giants PSV.
With managerial experience under his belt, 1999 Treble winner Yorke - speaking to BoyleSports, who offer the latest Champions League Betting – has said of potential change in the dugout: “It’s obvious to everyone what Manchester United would do if they sacked Erik ten Hag and that’s to appoint Ruud van Nistelrooy. It’s really not an ideal situation, if you are the manager. I know Ruud personally and he’s a great guy, he's got his own ambitions, he's obviously set that out in the past. I can only speak for myself, I don't really like it when you're going into a job knowing that if things don't go well enough for your boss then you can step into that position.”
Yorke added on United’s decision to bring in a potential threat to Ten Hag’s job alongside the man they recently handed a contract extension to: “Something is not quite right about that, in my opinion, because although he's very professional, I'm sure he'll go in there and do all his due diligence for the manager and work under the manager’s regime - but I don’t like the bigger picture. I’ve got to be honest. I'd rather sit on the side and be clear in my intention of being a full-time manager.
“I just think the environment is not quite right, even though you're pushing for the team to win and I'm sure that's the case with Ruud, but if that doesn't go well, then there is only one person who's going to take the blame and be sacked. That is unless Ruud decides to leave if Ten Hag goes, but personally I wouldn’t like to be in his position. I've seen it with Roy Keane, under Paul Lambert, under the likes of Martin O 'Neill as well, it wasn’t for Roy Keane to be a number two. And I like to think Ruud is similar in that sense, having said that it's such a great opportunity to be at United as it's not easy to turn your back on in any role.”
Ten Hag guided United to FA Cup glory last season, having overseen a Carabao Cup triumph in his debut campaign. Questions have been asked of his long-term future, but he is now tied to a deal through to the summer of 2026.
