Van Nistelrooy ‘will be offered interim job as MU manager’ if Ten Hag is sacked

RUUD VAN NISTELROOY is set to be offered the Manchester United job if Erik ten Hag is sacked, but reportedly has reservations about replacing him.

Ten Hag is teetering on the precipice of losing his job after a poor start to the season which has seen his side win just three games from their first nine games in all competitions.

It was reported at the start of the week that Ten Hag, 54, had two games to save his job.

The first of those was a 3-3 draw at Porto, with today's clash against Aston Villa potentially the last dance for the former Ajax manager, with club chiefs also scheduled to meet in London on Tuesday.

Consequently, talk over his replacement has been rampant, with one potential successor in the hot seat being assistant manager and United legend Van Nistelrooy on an interim basis.

However, according to the Mirror, Van Nistelrooy is having doubts over his potential succession to the manager's hot seat.

It comes after his own experience of being betrayed while a manager at PSV Eindhoven - to date his only senior managerial experience.

Van Nistelrooy shockingly ended his association with PSV towards the end of his first season with the club which saw him win the Johan Cruyff Shield and qualify for the Champions League.

He accused his assistant Fred Rutten and several senior players of conspiring with the club’s directors in the Spring of 2023, before he quit the Dutch outfit prior to the final game of the season.

And he is said to be conscious of a similar scenario developing at Old Trafford.

A source in Holland said: "Van Nistelrooy is a principled guy.

"He felt betrayed at Eindhoven - and he will not want to be viewed as the man who went behind Erik ten Hag’s back."

Van Nistelrooy, 48, was brought in as a coach over the summer after Ten Hag was handed a contract extension by new club chiefs brought in by Ineos.

Last week Arsenal icon Martin Keown suggested Van Nistelrooy might not be giving everything to help Ten Hag.

He told talkSPORT: "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."

Keown added: "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?

"It doesn't look like the players are committed, it doesn't look like the staff are particularly committed. It's a lone man in the dugout."