Erik ten Hag reveals why he decided to bring Ruud van Nistelrooy back to Man Utd
Ruud van Nistelrooy has returned to Manchester United to work under Erik ten Hag - and the former striker has a huge job on his hands following a defeat by Rosenborg
Erik ten Hag has provided more detail about Ruud van Nistelrooy ’s role at Manchester United after the club lost their opening pre-season match.
United lost 1-0 to Swedish side Rosenborg on Monday as their preparations for the 2024/25 campaign got off to an inauspicious start. They conceded in added time, leaving Ten Hag to blast that the “performance as a team is by far not good enough”.
There is clearly a lot of work to do for the new coaching staff, which was officially announced last week. Former United striker Van Nistelrooy has returned to the club, with fellow Dutchmen Rene Hake and Jelle ten Rouwelaar also joining after Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy were let go.
Former PSV Eindhoven boss Van Nistelrooy is well known to fans, having netted 150 goals in 219 appearances for United between 2001 and 2006. And Ten Hag gave some more insight into the specifics of his work after the disappointing Rosenborg loss.
“He is a very ambitious manager and he has a great skill set as a manager, so he will help the team and he will help individual players,” he told MUTV. “He will help the team in all the team functions with football, especially in attacking and pressing plays.”
It seems, therefore, that Van Nistelrooy has replaced McCarthy in working with the United forwards. And the focus on pressing will come as music to United fans’ ears, given the sluggishness and lack of organisation that was so frequently evident last season.
The 48-year-old was linked with Burnley and Leicester over the summer before landing at United. Ten Hag spoke glowingly in praise of Van Nistelrooy after his appointment last week.
“First of all, his character has brought him so far and it’s an example for everyone here in the building,” he said. “Of course, he will also bring some DNA of Manchester United in, but that character is such a strong driver and that is also what he shows as a coach.
“He has such a highly interesting profile, he’s so ambitious, he has the skills and he already has a lot of experience. He’s assisted the Dutch squad, in PSV he did the Under-19s as a manager, he did the Under-21s, Jong PSV, who were playing at the second level and then he was manager of the first team. So much experience, but very young, very ambitious, very driven. With his skills and his intelligence, he will help all the players and the team.”
United lost to Rosenborg, despite senior players Jonny Evans, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mason Mount, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford all starting. The team will next be in action against Rangers at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Saturday before heading on the USA-leg of their pre-season tour.
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