“It was not fair” – Amorim explains ‘unpopular’ Man Utd decision, aims dig at club’s management | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim reveals the reasons that prompted him to exclude Ruud van Nistelrooy from his managerial staff after taking over at Manchester United.

The club appointed the legendary striker as interim coach after sacking Erik ten Hag in October. The Dutchman performed admirably in the four fixtures he oversaw and was thus hoping to maintain a place following Amorim’s arrival.

Nevertheless, the Portuguese had other plans, preferring to rely on his tried and trusted collaborators rather than keeping Van Nistelrooy around. Hence, the latter was shown the door, but luckily, he bounced back almost immediately by getting the Leicester City job.

So ahead of their FA Cup meeting on Friday night, Amorim was once again asked to comment on his decision to send his colleague packing. The Man Utd boss insisted it would have been unfair to keep the iconic striker around as he deserves better, so he had to take the unpopular route.

“It was not a difficult situation because it was so clear for me. I just had to explain that I think it’s really simple and he understood. He’s a man of football, he understands this situation,” said Amorim in his pre-match press conference (via Sky Sports).

“I have my team and my staff and I could keep Ruud because it was a good thing for me, a popular thing to do, but then I will not put Ruud in front of my guys, no matter what.

“Then I had to put a person like Ruud at the end of the hierarchy on my staff and I think that was not fair for 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.  It was a clear decision, simple to explain and he took it like a class guy like he is.”

Ruben Amorim reveals why he let Ruud van Nistelrooy go

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

On another note, the incumbent Man Utd boss didn’t mince his words when it came to the club’s hierarchy and their previous transfer campaigns, insisting they committed several mistakes in the past which explains their hasty approach in January.

“What I feel is that the club is taking its time,” Amorim. “We know the urgency of the team at the moment, but I think everybody here doesn’t want to make the same mistakes we did in the past.

“We have to improve the players that we have, win some games and then, in the summer, we will see. We are being really careful with transfers because we made some mistakes in the past.”

The 39-year-old is now hoping to see improvements on the pitch since he’s finally being afforded more time on the training ground.

“It’s a moment that it’s hard to turn things around in a few games. It’s going to be like that – really hard – until the end of the season.

“We want a different thing in our team, we want profiles and that is my area, so it was my decision to do that [not make wholesale changes in January].

“We are taking some risks, but it’s the way we want to proceed. We can improve our team. We will have time to train because I’m always complaining about not having time to train.

“Now we have time to train, we are going to improve the team, the players. I want a certain type of player, a different profile and we are changing right away.”