Martin Keown has claimed Ruud van Nisterlooy is not “giving everything” for Erik ten Hag as he apparently aims to replace the Dutchman.
The current Manchester United boss is under huge pressure at Old Trafford. The Red Devils are currently in the midst of their joint worst-ever Premier League start following the weekend’s defeat to Spurs.
United chiefs are happy to stick with Ten Hag for the time being but that has not stopped replacements from being suggested. Ex-Arsenal star Keown believes coach Van Nistelrooy could have his eyes on the job
Speaking on talkSPORT, 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.
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“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.
“You hope that that group of players is there in the dressing room right now and maybe tries to police it because it’s not unusual. It wouldn’t have been [unusual] in our dressing room to have the occasional meeting where we had to try to bash out where things were wrong, where things weren’t going well.”
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Former Red Devils forward Van Nistelrooy only returned to Old Trafford in the summer. After leaving former club PSV Eindhoven, he was appointed as an assistant coach to Ten Hag.
Amid Keown’s claim that Van Nistelrooy could replace Ten Hag, it appears that the former striker already has fans in the dressing room. According to the Daily Star, some United stars would be happy to see the Dutchman take charge should a change be made in the near future.
United face a big week this week as Ten Hag attempts to keep his job. They first travel to Porto in midweek for a clash in the Europa League before taking on Unai Emery ’s Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Club chiefs are happy for Ten Hag to oversee those games but should he not earn a positive result, the pressure on his position could worsen.
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