The Dutchman restored a positive mood at Old Trafford in his short period as interim boss and should be kept on as a new era begins
"I wanted to bring Manchester United into a better place," Ruud van Nistelrooy said after rounding off his interim tenure with a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford. "It was my absolute goal, together with the players, and it's three wins and a draw. Getting 11 goals at Old Trafford, and only three against, is the standard you want to go to as a club. I think it's something to build on."
He just gets it, doesn't he? United is a club that must always demand the highest standards. Van Nistelrooy saw that the players had forgotten their responsibilities in the final months of Erik ten Hag's turbulent reign, and in just four games, gave them the proverbial kick in the backside that had been long overdue.
Because of Van Nistelrooy's impressive work, Ruben Amorim is walking into a more settled environment. United were in crisis when Ten Hag was sacked on October 28 and the future looked bleak because of the INEOS group's failure to put the former Ajax coach out of his misery at a far earlier date. But now, there is genuine cause for optimism again.
Amorim can focus on shaping the squad in his image instead of lifting the confidence levels of the entire dressing room. United's new permanent manager owes Van Nistelrooy a debt of gratitude for that, and making the Dutchman his No.2 would be the perfect way to repay him.
Getty Images Sport'Spirit' of a real United team
Van Nistelrooy could scarcely have asked for an easier opening game as interim boss. United romped to a 5-2 win over a half-strength Leicester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes each scoring a brace while Alejandro Garnacho also got in on the act.
Ten Hag may well have delivered a win in that fixture too, having overseen the 7-0 thrashing of Barnsley in the previous round. But the biggest difference was still undeniable: the players had smiles on their faces again.
That was in no small part due to Van Nistelrooy's body language, as he prowled the edge of his technical area throughout the game and reacted passionately to every key moment. It made a refreshing change to the sight of Ten Hag rooted to the spot with the empty expression of a man who had no idea how to motivate his team.
United were far less impressive in Van Nistelrooy's second game against Chelsea, but they dug in to earn a vital point. "I saw the spirit on the pitch," the 48-year-old said after the 1-1 draw. "That's the foundation to grow."
That "spirit" also lifted the Red Devils to their first Europa League win of the season at home to PAOK four days later, and it was prevalent again on Sunday.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'Connection is there'
United still didn't look fluid in their latest win over Leicester, but they were clinical. Fernandes marked his 250th appearance for the club with a brilliant strike from the far corner of the box to open the scoring, before forcing a Victor Kristiansen own goal that gave Van Nistelrooy's side a comfortable half-time lead.
Garnacho then stepped off the bench to deliver the final blow, curling home a sublime long-range shot for his 10th goal involvement in 17 appearances this season. Van Nistelrooy made the bold decision to drop the Argentina winger after his ineffective displays against Chelsea and PAOK, and it paid off as Garnacho played like a man with a point to prove in his 33 minutes on the pitch.
The Red Devils also looked relatively solid at the back, with Matthjis de Ligt producing perhaps his best display since his summer switch from Bayern Munich. It was the perfect way for Van Nistelrooy to bow out, and he was serenaded after the final whistle as the United faithful expressed their gratitude.
"The connection is there. It's what United is about," he said. "Being together and getting results. I'm proud of that and thankful to the supporters. It was beautiful moment." It doesn't have to be the last one either.
Van Nistelrooy added when pressed on his future: "In the end, the most important thing is this football club, and I'm here to support that in my role. I want to continue doing that in the future and now also the communication was OK [that] 'after the block of four games, there will be communication towards you and your colleagues that are in an uncertain situation'. So, I expect to hear today or tomorrow from them."
Getty Reviving Fernandes
There will certainly be several players lobbying for Van Nistelrooy to stick around. Casemiro, De Ligt and Manuel Ugarte have all shown signs of improvement under his stewardship, while Amad Diallo has made a very strong claim for a regular starting role on the right wing.
But no one has benefitted more than Fernandes. The United captain looked a shadow of his usual self in the first three months of the season as he went 12 games without scoring, and his presence appeared to be hindering the team in attack and defence.
Fernandes had reached the lowest point of his Old Trafford career, but Van Nistelrooy reignited the spark inside him. A return of four goals and two assists in his last four appearances suggests that reports of Fernandes' demise were greatly exaggerated. He was particularly influential against Leicester at the weekend, making 33 passes in the final third (almost double the amount of any other player) and creating the most chances (seven).
It remains to be seen how Fernandes will fit into Amorim's 3-4-3 system, but he's made himself indispensable again. On current form, he is United's best player and the one Amorim must build his team around. Fernandes gives much of the credit to Van Nistelrooy, and has hinted that he would welcome an extended alliance.
"It's been a big part, obviously. He felt that everyone was a little bit down, so everything he did every day in training, it was trying to bring joy," Fernandes told . "He brought a lot of energy from that, he brought people fighting, training, running, trying duels and lots of small games, competitions. And I like [that], with small things, just to bring the energy back. And he did it. He did it well."
GettyRonaldo endorsement
Van Nistelrooy always felt like a shrewd addition to Ten Hag's backroom staff. The former Red Devils striker had proved his coaching chops at PSV, who won the Dutch Cup and Dutch Super Cup in his only season at the helm before he stepped down in May 2023 due to concerns over how the club was being run.
But more importantly, as Ten Hag put it, Van Nistelrooy also brought "some Manchester United DNA". Van Nistelrooy established himself as one of the most prolific centre-forwards of his generation at Old Trafford. He scored 150 goals in just 219 appearances for United between 2001 and 2006, firing them to Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup glory.
He understands the inner workings of the club and the core principles that made them so successful under Sir Alex Ferguson. That's not enough to lead the team permanently, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer found out to his peril, but having someone with Van Nistelrooy's experience on hand in a supporting role is potentially invaluable, as Cristiano Ronaldo explained during an interview with Rio Ferdinand at the start of September.
"You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge. Not guys who work in an office. They understand," Ronaldo said when assessing his former team-mate's role. "The people who understand the football, it was, 99 per cent is the people who were there in the dressing room. They know how to deal with the players. It’s the people who understand these things. So I believe that Ruud is going to help because he was inside the club. He knows the club. He knows the fans."