Ruud van Nistelrooy is ‘waiting to take over’ from fellow Dutchman Erik ten Hag at Manchester United following the side’s humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham, his old foe Martin Keown has suggested.
The Red Devils endured a miserable Sunday afternoon as they were convincingly torn apart by Ange Postecoglou’s side at Old Trafford, thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke.
The ordeal piled further pressure on beleagured boss ten Hag whose two-year spell at the club appears to be drawing to a close, with United sitting 12th in the table behind Brentford.
Assistant manager van Nistelrooy could be seen patrolling the touchline next to his countryman throughout the encounter. The former Red Devils striker returned to the the side over the summer.
Now Arsenal legend Keown, who engaged in a number of heated feuds with the Dutchman throughout his playing career, has told talkSport that he thinks van Nistelrooy could be in line to replace ten Hag.
Ruud van Nistelrooy is ‘waiting to take over’ from Erik ten Hag at Manchester United following the side’s humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham, his old foe Martin Keown has suggested
The ordeal piled further pressure on beleagured boss ten Hag whose two-year spell at the club appears to be drawing to a close
Assistant manager van Nistelrooy could be seen patrolling the touchline next to his countryman throughout the encounter
He said: ‘I’m looking at Van Nistelrooy. Is he giving everything to this manager? This manager looks very lonely on the sideline.
‘Is Van Nistelrooy waiting to take over? Because it looks as if there’s going to be change taking place there.
‘Is everyone adding to the group? I’m not seeing that from Van Nistelrooy. Ten Hag is just sitting there, nothing going on, no conversation. Pep [Guardiola] goes back and speaks to the gurus next to him.
‘Is everybody looking in the mirror at themselves giving their best?’
Keown’s most infamous run-in with van Nistelrooy came during the Battle of Old Trafford in 2003 where the Arsenal centre-back celebrated in the face of the United striker when he missed a penalty.
The Englishman was fined £20,000 and given a three-match ban following the incident which took place in the dying seconds of a goalless encounter between the two title hopefuls.
A mass brawl ensued but Keown insists van Nistelrooy himself was to blame for Gunners captain Patrick Vieira’s sending off earlier in the match, suggesting that the Dutch international’s theatrics had influenced the referee’s decision.
Bruno Fernandes received a red card for scraping the leg of Spurs’ James Maddison with his boot just before half-time in a torrid performance from the Red Devils.
Earlier today it was reported that United are standing by under-fire ten Hag but the Dutchman faces a potentially pivotal week in the battle to save his job.
Sources say the club are remaining calm in the face of the latest storm to engulf the manager and are uncomfortable with any suggestion that he has two games to avoid the sack.
Keown’s most infamous run-in with van Nistelrooy came during the Battle of Old Trafford in 2003
Bruno Fernandes received a red card for scraping the leg of Spurs’ James Maddison with his boot
Ange Postecoglou’s side made it four wins in a row in all competitions and could have had six or seven
But there is an acceptance that results must improve and United will want to see a reaction from Ten Hag’s team in Thursday’s Europa League tie away to FC Porto and Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa.
It is followed by a two-week international break which would give United’s minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe a clear opportunity to make a change if he decides that Ten Hag’s time is up.
United have lost half of their six Premier League games this season including back-to-back 3-0 defeats at home to Spurs and Liverpool.
