'He's got that aura': Ruud van Nistelrooy tipped to be next Manchester United manager as his signing undermines Erik ten Hag's expectations
Manchester United may have only played one game of the new season, but Erik ten Hag could already be looking over his shoulder.
The Dutch coach saw his troops follow up their FA Cup victory over Manchester City Last season with a penalty shootout Community Shield defeat to their rivals to start the new campaign.
Among a summer of change for Ten Hag was a completely new coaching staff, including the familiar face of Ruud van Nistelrooyone of football's most lethal finishers who played at Old Trafford between 2001 and 2006.
However, Van Nistelrooy is not a normal assistant and not only because of his playing career. The 48-year-old has already been head coach at PSV Eindhoven.
There he won two trophies and earned a reputation that saw him linked with several teams in the Bundesliga and also the Championship. Burnley.
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However, Van Nistelrooy opted to return to United as an assistant, but after just one game, several pundits are convinced he may have bigger ambitions at the Theatre of Dreams.
Speaking about the manager turned assistant, Arsenal legend Perry's Groves He said: “Ruud van Nistelrooy has been brought in as their new number two with a completely new supporting cast, but when they looked at him in his suit, tie and glasses, he looked like the manager.
“He will be the next coach, without a doubt.”
talkSPORT presenter Sam Matterface He agreed, saying Groves was certainly not alone in that line of thinking, having been on the pitch at Wembley and sensed the same sentiment.
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“There was a lot of talk about this on the pitch yesterday,” Matterface explained. “The general consensus was that if things go wrong, even in the short term, he will be the interim who takes the reins initially.
“He has an aura around him, there was a lot of talk in the summer about pushing that narrative that he has a demeanor that players respect.
“When you’re told to revamp your coaching staff and find a way to play that’s more attractive and progressive and you’re not 100 percent in charge of those appointments, that sets the tone.”
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Matterface was alluding to stories that Ten Hag did not have full control over his changing of assistants, something that could well weaken him, and Groves was in complete agreement.
“Everyone will tell you, whether you're an assistant or a coach, that the important thing is to trust your coaches,” he said.
“Everything will be fine when everything is fine, but he (Ten Hag) knows he is two or three results away from achieving it. Manchester United imploding and then looking around thinking 'these weren't my choice of trainers, are they informing the owners about me?' and then you can start to get paranoid and isolated.
“The only reason he’s still a coach is because they couldn’t find anyone else and he knows the owners don’t value him.”
