After his excellent stint as interim coach ended, Ruud van Nistelrooy was sad to leave Manchester United, but the Dutchman said that he could understand why new manager Ruben Amorim wanted to bring his own assistants into the team.
Van Nistelrooy, who was previously his countryman’s assistant and was named manager of Leicester City at the end of last month, has won all four of his games as United’s manager since Erik ten Hag was fired.
“I was disappointed, yeah, very much so, and it hurt that I had to leave,” he told reporters on Monday.
“The only job I would take as an assistant was at United because of the bond that I have with the people in the club and the fans. But in the end I got my head round it because I also understand the new manager.
“I spoke to Ruben Amorim about it, the conversation was grateful, man to man, manager to manager, and that helped a lot to move on and straightaway get into talks with new possibilities which lifted my spirits.”
Before joining Real Madrid, Van Nistelrooy had a stellar five-year career at United, scoring 150 goals. However, the former striker claimed he had the tenacity to help 16th-place Leicester escape relegation.
“People see Real Madrid, Manchester United, but my first three seasons as a professional were in Dutch football with FC Den Bosch, so I know what it’s like to fight,” he added.
Leicester host West Ham United in the Premier League later on Tuesday.
