Soccer Football - Europa League - Manchester United v PAOK - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - November 7, 2024 Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy reacts REUTERS/Molly Darlington
(Reuters) - Interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of Manchester United for the final time when they play Leicester City before Portuguese Ruben Amorim takes charge but the Dutchman said on Friday that he hopes to stay on as an assistant at Old Trafford.
Amorim will leave Sporting and join United during the international break next week, with Van Nistelrooy given four games to steady the ship following the sacking of his compatriot Erik ten Hag last month.
Ahead of Amorim's arrival, Van Nistelrooy has managed to get the fans on board again with two wins and a draw in all competitions, including a 5-2 win over Leicester in the League Cup in his first match in charge.
"It was a special period, it is still. I call it an important period because it was important to get through the four games as well as we could. I think we've done very well so far," Van Nistelrooy told reporters.
"The players reacted really well in the games. The focus now is to show that on Sunday.
"I don't know if it will be very emotional. I'm pragmatic as well, although I'm very proud to be able to fulfil this."
While Van Nistelrooy's future at Old Trafford is up in the air, United goalkeeper Andre Onana said the players are keen for the former PSV Eindhoven boss to stay.
"The appetite to build further within this club is stronger than that (being my own man)," Van Nistelrooy added.
"I made a deliberate decision to step into this role for two seasons and take it from there. Four games haven't changed that sentiment.
"That's why I said from the beginning that's what my intentions were after my interim job."
United have scored only nine league goals this season -- one of the lowest in the division -- and when asked if the club needed a proven goal scorer, the former Dutch striker said that was something they were building towards.
"I agree that when you want to be a successful side in the Premier League and in Europe, which is what the build is all about, you need a certain amount of goals. That is clear," said Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 goals for United.
"That is why the best teams in the world have those players. At the moment we have players that can get a certain amount of goals and assists, but obviously they are in an age where they still have to be developed.
"There is that potential that there will be and the belief is there that they can."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru)
