Manchester United: Ruud van Nistelrooy ‘to be offered’ job if Erik ten Hag is sacked

Ruud van Nistelrooy is in line to take over at Manchester United if Erik ten Hag is sacked.

Ten Hag is under increasing pressure and defeat away at Aston Villa on Sunday would leave the beleaguered Dutchman on the brink.

Former United striker Van Nistelrooy is on the coaching staff at Old Trafford and the Mirror report he “will be offered the job on an interim basis if Ten Hag is sacked”.

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But Van Nistelrooy is said to be worried about being seen as betraying Ten Hag, who brought him back to United in the summer as part of his backroom team.

The report claims Van Nistelrooy “does not want to be portrayed as an opportunist”.

After last weekend’s shambolic 3-0 defeat against Tottenham continued a poor start to the season, Ten Hag is under real pressure at United.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe this week refused to publicly back Ten Hag as his future hangs in the balance.

Ratcliffe, a minority co-owner at Old Trafford, is expected be at Villa Park amid growing concern at United about results and performances.

Asked in an interview with the BBC on Friday whether he retains faith in Ten Hag, Ratcliffe would not be drawn.

“I don’t want to answer that question,” he said. “I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.”

Any decision on Ten Hag will be taken by chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.