"He'll be back when the time is right", "Can’t help but be sad" - Manchester United fans react as Ruud Van Nistelrooy departs club after interim stint
Manchester United fans have reacted on social media after Ruud van Nistelrooy departed the club. The club legend joined Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford as an assistant coach ahead of the season. However, when Ten Hag was shown the door on October 28, Van Nistelrooy took over the reins in an interim position.
The club hierarchy did not wait to determine if he would be a good fit for the managerial role in the long term, though. They immediately moved for Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim to take over. It was decided that the Portuguese coach would start in his new role today (November 11).
It was uncertain if Van Nistelrooy would resume his role as assistant coach after Ruben Amorim was hired, with the Portuguese head coach looking to bring in his own staff. This eventually led to the Dutchman's eventual departure, which fans reacted to on social media with comments like these:
"He'll be back when the time is right, thank you Ruud, you'll always be loved here.❤️" a fan said.
"Wish him every success, his next club are lucky- can’t help but be sad," another added.
"im devasted and disgusted keeping him would have brought the fans closer the the new manager," a third was angry.
"He should have stayed," a fourth claimed.
"Legend - gone but never forgotten. Hes got a huge career as a coach ahead of him!" this fan said.
"Departed the club, why do I have a feeling you guys would still have to call this man back someday." another fan added.
How Ruud van Nistelrooy fared as Manchester United's interim boss
In the matches after Erik ten Hag was sacked by Manchester United, Van Nistelrooy manned the fort well. He led the Red Devils to four games without a loss in all competitions.
Ten Hag got sacked after the 2-1 loss against West Ham United on October 27. Following that, Van Nistelrooy led the Red Devils to a 5-2 win over Leicester City at home in the EFL Cup Round of 16. He followed that up with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at home in the Premier League, before beating PAOK at home 2-0 in the Europa League.
Yesterday (November 10), he led Manchester United to beat Leicester City 3-0 in their Premier League clash at Old Trafford. The Red Devils will hope that under Ruben Amorim, they can continue this remarkable run of form that Van Nistelrooy led them on.