Ruud van Nistelrooy expects clarity on his future by the end of Monday after his interim reign as Manchester United manager ended with a 3-0 win against Leicester and a “special” Old Trafford send-off.
Having seen his goal-laden first spell as a United player come to an acrimonious end in 2006, the fan favourite returned to the club over the summer as one of Erik ten Hag’s assistants.
Van Nistelrooy stepped up as interim boss following Ten Hag’s sacking and hands over to new head coach Ruben Amorim having ended his temporary stint with a much-needed league victory against Leicester.
The Old Trafford faithful chanted the Dutchman’s name from the outset and throughout the match, with things coming to an emotional crescendo as he went around applauding the fans at full-time.
“After this block of four games, it felt like closure for that period and the future is open,” Van Nistelrooy said. “That’s the way I felt it.
“It was a beautiful moment to be able to share that with the supporters and special.”
Asked if it felt like it could be goodbye given his place in Amorim’s new-look coaching staff is unclear, Van Nistelrooy said: “No, I felt like closing this period down, if you say it like that.
“Basically it was a moment here and now, and that was the beauty of the moment in my opinion, where circumstances came together.
“It was a beautiful moment and it was gratitude from my side to them, and the reception I was able to receive was unbelievable so I can only thank them.”
Amorim starts work at Old Trafford on Monday, having led Sporting Lisbon for the final time in their league match against Braga on Sunday night.
The Portuguese has already confirmed he will be bringing in his own staff, raising doubt over whether Van Nistelrooy will still be an assistant at a club he has a deal with until 2026.
“I appreciated the clear communication of the club that it was an interim spell for a short term,” the temporary boss said. “It could have been one or two games even, that was the first communication, and they kept me in the loop.
“They said ‘OK, it’s going to be four, it’s going to be announced a new head coach’, etc, etc.
“So, for me, it is important to have that clarity and I appreciated that.
“In the end, the most important thing is this football club, and I’m here to support that in my role.
“As I said, I want to continue doing that in the future and now also the communication was OK [that] ‘after the block of four games, there will be communication towards you and your colleagues that are in an uncertain situation’.
“So, I expect to hear today or tomorrow from them.”