"He's also hurt that he had to leave" - Van Nistelrooy comments on Erik ten Hag following his Manchester United sacking
Ruud van Nistelrooy has stated that Erik ten Hag is "hurt" about the Manchester United sacking. He claimed that the Dutchman was keen on getting the Red Devils back to the top of the Premier League table.
Speaking to the media after their 5-2 win against Leicester City, the interim Red Devils manager said that Ten Hag was proud of his time at Manchester United. He claims that the manager's two trophies in as many seasons at the club was him leaving a mark at Old Trafford. He said (via centredevils on X):
"I really felt he cared and loved the club and wanted to bring the club forward and that's why we connected. That's why he's also hurt that he had to leave but also proud of his achievements here with the two cups and the history he's leaving with that."
When quizzed if he was finding it hard to focus amid the chaos, Nistelrooy added (via Mirror):
“It was difficult that Erik had to leave, you have very mixed feelings, but the mindset has to switch quickly, because you have 75,000 fans waiting and that's what we tried to do against Leicester and the same for Sunday and then we'll see."
Manchester United sacked Ten Hag on Monday following their 2-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday. The Red Devils are in talks to hire Ruben Amorim as the next permanent manager and have activated his €10 million release clause.
Ruud van Nistelrooy keen on staying at Manchester United
Ruud van Nistelrooy has stated that he has no plans to leave Manchester United amid reports that he was set to follow Erik ten Hag out of the club. He admitted that he returned to Old Trafford this summer to help the club and said (via Mirror):
“I decided to come back here for a very important reason - that I'm here. I came as an assistant top help the club move forward and I'm still motivated to do so in any capacity. I go back to my assistant contract that I have here for this season and next and I'm very motivated to stay here and help the club forward - that's my absolute goal."
“So we will see, but it's a contract situation I'm in and my desire is to help the club forward. I can speak about my side of the story and when a new manager is signing and conversations take place, we have to see how things develop. It's going to be a short job as an interim, that was communicated very clearly. I was happy with that, I felt I was called upon to help the club move forward in this situation," he added.
Manchester United were linked with Gareth Southgate, Graham Potter, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and more in the summer, but they decided to stick with Ten Hag. However, he has now faced the sack after the poor start to the season and is set to be replaced by Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim.