Man Utd players want shock manager to take charge if Erik ten Hag gets sacked
Manchester United players would reportedly ‘welcome’ Ruud van Nistelrooy as the club’s new manager if Erik ten Hag gets sacked from his current job.
Ten Hag is under immense pressure after losing 3-0 at home to Tottenham and it is thought that the Dutchman only has two games to save himself.
A number of established managers have been linked with taking over, including ex-England boss Gareth Southgate and former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel.
United’s squad, though, would encourage club chiefs to give the job to their current assistant manager Van Nistelrooy instead, the Daily Star have reported.
Van Nistelrooy, a former striker for United in his playing days, returned to the club this summer to work under Ten Hag.
The 48-year-old paused his own managerial career to become an assistant for United, having previously been PSV’s head coach between 2022 and 2023, which was his first and only time in charge of a club after he managed their youth side.
‘It’s 100% the right decision [to return],’ Van Nistelrooy recently told TNT Sports. ‘I felt a strong feeling that I want to help build United – little by little – back to where we feel and know where the club should be.
‘I was on the managerial track. I managed PSV – an unbelievable experience – and I was in talks with clubs to manage, and I love it.
‘I had my staff all ready, and then I had a phone call. I was like, ‘jeez’. I never thought of it as a possibility.
‘Erik called me. I said I had to think about it, but I immediately felt, ‘wow’. I started to love the idea.
‘Especially the big picture where it’s a new start with the new ownership and leadership. A phase where you start to rebuild and be a part of it.
‘I just want to contribute to where the club should be and, little by little, bring it there.
‘I hope when they reach it, it will be soon. I want to contribute. I feel a strong feeling that I want to do that.’