Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Manchester United – Weekly Takeway

Sunday’s defeat to West Ham United at the London Stadium marked the end of the Erik Ten Hag era at Manchester United, with his assistant Ruud Van Nistelrooy taking temporary charge until a permanent coach is recruited. So what can United fans expect from Van Nistelrooy in his spell in the dugout at Old Trafford, however long it turns out to be?

Despite having little experience managing at senior level, his one year as manager of PSV Eindhoven was looked at by many as fairly successful, with his side winning the KNVB Beker and the Johan Cruyff Shield, as well as finishing 2nd in the Eredivisie behind winners Feyenoord.

In Europe, things were not so positive as Sevilla, who actually went on to be winners of the competition, eliminated PSV in the knockout play-off rounds of the Europa League. The Dutchman went on to leave the club at the end of the season after receiving a lack of support from the club, something that did not go down well with many players and fans.

As PSV manager, Van Nistelrooy took charge of 51 matches in all competitions, leaving with a win percentage of 64.7% and scoring 126 goals, and a league-high that season with 89 goals. His team is set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with emphasis on his wide players stretching the opposition and fullbacks inverting, similar to what United has looked to try and implement so far this season, but with very little success up till this point.

PSV looked to press aggressively and high up the pitch to force turnovers in possession, again similar to Ten Hag but a lot less chaotic and hopefully more effective.

Van Nistelrooy likes his team to attack, get crosses into the box, and get a lot of shots, as well as dominate possession and have defensive stability.

Fans can expect to see a similar approach to what Ten Hag had wanted so far this season, which could be a positive as it won’t be a drastic change for the players to have to deal with, although it hasn’t had much success with United currently sat in 14th in the Premier League.

Perhaps a few changes in personnel can change United’s fortunes in front of goal and get them into a positive run of results for the first time this season.

He is also known for his tactical adaptability, which was best shown in PSV’s 2-0 win over Arsenal in the Europa League in 2022.

The Premier League side were the better side throughout the game, dominating possession and having nearly double the amount of chances as the Dutch side, but a few tactical tweaks at half-time led to PSV being victorious over Mikel Arteta’s men.

The interim coach heads into a favourable run of fixtures for United, with a lot of home fixtures against newly-promoted sides and a few of the lower-ranked teams in this season’s Europa League, but not forgetting Sunday’s clash with Chelsea.

Will Ruud Van Nistelrooy be able to convince INEOS that maybe he is the right man to take permanent charge for the foreseeable future, or will his lack of managerial experience carry on United’s current poor form?