Ruud van Nistelrooy: Neville, Scholes and Keane will turn on me if job goes badly

With ex-colleagues as pundits, Manchester United’s interim manager says he does not mind if they criticise him

Ruud van Nistelrooy expects his friends and former Manchester United team-mates to turn on him if his side performs badly against Chelsea – and the caretaker manager has no complaints.
The Dutchman is in charge for three more games before Ruben Amorim officially takes over from Erik ten Hag on November 11, during the upcoming international break.
Van Nistelrooy, winner of his first match in interim charge over Leicester in the Carabao Cup, will also take control for home matches with PAOK Salonika and Leicester, again, in the Premier League.
One of the features of Ten Hag’s reign was the avalanche of criticism that poured down on him from former United players now in high-profile media roles – a long list led by Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes – all Van Nistelrooy’s former team-mates.
Many of them remain friends of Van Nistelrooy who claims he is more than happy to take any negativity that comes his way.
“There are quite a few, yeah!” said Van Nistelrooy. “We all do our job, don’t we? And I think, basically, they care for the club, they want the club to do well, they’re disappointed if it doesn’t go well with the club and have opinions on it.
“I think it’s absolutely fine, I don’t take it personally. When I see them, I have a cup of coffee with them and I don’t have any problems with that.
“I appreciate them as former colleagues, some of them I’m still in touch with and that’s the path they chose. Others stay in football more on the football side. For me, it’s absolutely fine.”
There were certainly no complaints in Van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge, the 5-2 Carabao Cup win over Leicester which took United through to the quarter-finals where they face Tottenham.
The former United striker insists he is unaffected by external reaction and more focused on helping steady United, ready for them to bounce back under Amorim.
“In the end you’re going to be judged. Wednesday was good, was very positive, to get the positive criticism, everybody was positive,” he said.
“Obviously in football, things can change or things can continue. I don’t believe the hype that much, don’t believe the drama that much. I know it’s the world we live in. But for me, it’s important to stay calm, stay focused, to do my job on a daily basis.
“That also has to be the case for this club. We’re not going to turn it around from today to tomorrow, but I think we’re going to get it done and I believe in that, over the longer future.”
Van Nistelrooy has repeatedly stressed his desire to remain at United and see out the two-year assistant manager contract he signed last summer.
And, while he insists there is no question of being an assistant at another club, Van Nistelrooy claims he would be happy to see out his contract under Amorim.
“This would be the only job I would take as an assistant,” said Van Nistelrooy, who was previously manager of PSV.
“For me, it was important for me to get a feel of it and how it’s going over the course of two years and after that make a decision, is this something that is fulfilling for me in my job.
“I have to say, for the moment, I have; I’m really enjoying the role as an assistant. Obviously the decision for Man Utd was a big one and that is why I’m in this role and can commit myself to the role as assistant manager.
“And I did it with great pride and I really enjoyed it and I will enjoy it again after this and, after two years, we have to see how things go.”
Van Nistelrooy, however, is all too aware that the realities of football dictate that he could well be surplus to requirements, given that Amorim and United have held talks over which of his coaching staff he will bring with him from Lisbon.
“Of course things can change, we all know that, but we will see,” said Van Nistelrooy.
“I’m not thinking in that way. I’m not here to prove myself in that way. I’m here to help, to do the best I can. The club is the most important thing, that’s my main focus. All the other things are not in my mind.”