Ruben Amorim told to let Ruud van Nistelrooy go ahead of new Manchester United era

Troy Deeney has pulled no punches as he waded in on the situation at Manchester United. If it were up to him, Ruud van Nistelrooy would not be staying at the club under Ruben Amorim nor would many of the current squad.

Man United can see the light at the end of the tunnel now with Monday, the day Amorim takes full charge as the club's next permanent manager, only a short time away. Since Erik ten Hag's sacking at the start of last week the role has been fulfilled by one of his assistants since the start of the 2024/25 campaign, Van Nistelrooy.

Also a former prolific goalscorer under Sir Alex Ferguson, the Dutchman has rallied the squad to win two of his three unbeaten matches in charge. He will be in the dugout for Sunday's Premier League meeting with Leicester City and in the middle of a debate whether he should stay as part of Amorim's staff, Deeney has cruelly said this weekend should be the last time Van Nistelrooy is seen.

"I think you've got to completely break away. The biggest problem with Man United is what happened with Arsenal all those years ago when they were trying to keep hold of 'the Wenger way' and the good old times. You need to just break away from this," the ex-Watford striker told talkSPORT.

"Ruud van Nistelrooy is in a situation where he was a manager last year [at PSV Eindhoven]. With the greatest of respect nobody was looking at him to take any of the big jobs on, he's now come in and been at Man United, got no association to Ten Hag in terms of the negativity that comes with him and the style of play.

"You've had a couple of games at Man United, I'm sure in the next six or seven weeks he will have a lot of job offers but now the new manager has to go with his people."

Deeney also had a brutal review of the current crop of Man United players, fearing for the incoming Amorim in a sense.

The players have gone without defeat in recent outings but the pundit sees few redeeming qualities to suggest they have what it takes to carry out the new manager's vision.

"When you saw Sporting play against Man City the other day, the biggest thing that jumped off the page for me was energy, excitement, enthusiasm - everyone knowing where they were going. Then you look at the [Man United] performance last night and you're like oh my God.

"Just talking from a purely football point of view, I don't understand how these Man United players are going to fit into that system that he wants because it is all energy, it is everyone going a thousand miles an hour," he continued.

"Don't get me wrong, it is football and there is tactical nuance to it but the biggest part is can you run? Can you press? Do you have desire? I've not saw that for a long time.

"Listen, without trying to bash Man United - which is one of the biggest clubs in world football, if not THE biggest - it has been a bit of a circus for a while now. What is it, 10 years probably?

"Lacking leadership, at the end of it not knowing what they're doing. I'm not telling you [the players lack the desire needed to play under Amorim], you can see it. They don't press, they don't run, they don't work."