Ruben Amorim knows retaining Ruud van Nistelrooy as part of Manchester United’s backroom team would have been popular but felt he had to let him go out of respect for his staff and the club great’s standing.

The popular former striker returned to Old Trafford in the summer as an assistant coach and stepped in as caretaker manager after Erik ten Hag was sacked in late October.

Van Nistelrooy oversaw three wins and a draw before handing over to new boss Amorim, who decided to bring his own coaching staff rather than retain the United fan favourite.

The Dutchman had wanted to stay and was swiftly appointed manager at Premier League strugglers Leicester, who he leads to Old Trafford on Friday night for an FA Cup fourth-round clash.

“It was not a difficult situation because it was so clear for me, I just had to explain,” Amorim said. “I think it’s really simple and he understands. He is a man of football, he understands this situation.

“I have my team and my staff. I could keep Ruud because it was a good thing for me, a popular thing to do.

“But I will not put Ruud in front of my guys, no matter what, and then I had to put a person like Ruud in the end on the hierarchy on my staff, and I think that was not fair on Ruud.

“To show respect to Ruud I was really clear with him and I explained that I have my team, I will continue the same way and I will not put a guy like Ruud, a legend of this club, in the end of the hierarchy in the staff.

“So, it was the clear decision, really simple to explain and he took it like a class guy as he is.”

Asked about the potential benefit of having somebody that knows United like Van Nistelrooy, the head coach said: “The most important thing to have as a coach is a staff who understand the way you want to play, the standards you have.

“When I say standards, I am not saying Ruud don’t have these standards – he was a legend of this club, he knows what it takes to win.

“But I prefer to work with a team that brought me here. It’s clear that is important for me, to explain the same thing to the players, so it was that decision.

“I’m really comfortable and confident that I know how to win, no matter the club…of course we are losing and in the moment you need experienced guys, but I’m not lost, or I feel a of something in the staff. We just need to improve as a team.”

This will be Leicester’s third visit to Old Trafford this season, with Van Nistelrooy in caretaker charge of United’s Premier League and Carabao Cup wins against the club that now employs him.

Both he and Ten Hag have better records in the United dugout this season than Amorim, who dismissed the suggestion that was an uncomfortable statistic.

“It’s not awkward and I think it’s normal,” the Portuguese said. “He knew the team, he worked with the team. I made some decisions that are really hard, to sometimes create problems, friction in the team.

“Everything in the schedule that you don’t have time to train, to know the person. It’s really hard because I’m a really proud guy, but I take this normally.

“They were better than me in training this team, so I’m trying to help them to see the game the way I see, to improve the performance, and also the results.”

Read More