Van Nistelrooy in dark over Manchester United future under Amorim
Ruud van Nistelrooy shared that he hasn't received any communication from Rúben Amorim about his future, following Manchester United's long-awaited European victory that came after over a year of anticipation.
United's win against the Greek champions, Paok, at Old Trafford moved them up to 15th place in the Europa League standings with a total of six points. This Sunday, Leicester will be coming to town for Van Nistelrooy's fourth and final game as the team's interim manager. It's still unclear if he will stay with the club once Amorim takes over, as the Dutch coach mentioned he hadn't heard from the 39-year-old who is set to start on Monday after Sporting's match in Braga on Sunday.
"I need to check my phone [to see if Amorim has sent a message] – we'll figure things out later. I believe Rúben is concentrating on Braga while I'm concentrating on Leicester," Van Nistelrooy stated. "That’s where our attention is right now, and it demonstrates our commitment to handling our responsibilities one day at a time. Let him take care of Braga, and I’ll handle Leicester. We'll deal with everything else after that. My mind is solely focused on this one task."
"I want to make the most of my final game as an interim coach. My main goal is to get ready as thoroughly as possible and support the players in every way I can. That's where all my attention is right now, and I’m not thinking about the future too much. This is really significant."
United secured their win with two goals from Amad Diallo in the second half, with the winger being the highlight of the match. This outcome means that Van Nistelrooy has guided the team to two victories and one draw since Erik ten Hag was let go last Monday following a loss to West Ham.
“This brief timeframe is crucial for us to bounce back after our defeat against West Ham,” he stated. “We had to start securing wins, which is why I emphasized its significance. It’s essential for me to keep moving forward and to build upon our results against Leicester, Chelsea, and Paok. We can use our first European home victory in a year as a stepping stone. We talked about this in the locker room; it was time for a shift, and we accomplished that. Sunday’s match is vital for us in the league, and we need to deliver an outstanding performance.”
"The first half of the match against Paok was disappointing. We barely managed to generate any chances, and neither did Paok. We struggled to find our rhythm, our ball control was lacking, and we committed several technical errors. Our formation wasn’t effective; there were moments when it worked, but they didn’t last long enough to make a difference. Fortunately, the second half showed much improvement."
