Van Nistelrooy keen to give new man a welcoming gift

There is no doubting when Ruud Van Nistelrooy accepted the offer to become one of Erik ten Hag's assistants at Manchester United, he had his eyes on the big job.

- PETE HALL

With United notoriously slow to make appointments in key positions - see their pursuit of Dan Ashworth - Van Nistelrooy was probably expecting at least a few months to stamp his authority on the role when Ten Hag was sacked this week, even hoping to get an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer-type immediate bounce that could earn him a proper crack at the whip.

Alas, it seems United’s new hierarchy know what they are doing and Ruben Amorim will be sworn in during the international break after his appointment was confirmed on Friday. But what was ostensibly clear as he punched the air in front of the Stretford End after United’s 5-2 win over Leicester, lingering to be serenaded by supporters, is even if only for four games, there is an enormous sense of pride within one of the best strikers to ever don the red shirt to be standing in that Old Trafford dugout.

Van Nistelrooy has often spoken of the affection he still holds for United and there has always been an immovable sense of unfinished business at Old Trafford burning within the Dutchman, having left at the peak of his powers in 2006, the latest high-profile name to fall out with Sir Alex Ferguson.