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Several Manchester United players have shared their views on how they expect Ruud van Nistelrooy to transform the team into a powerhouse this season.
Earlier this month, Man United hired Van Nistelrooy as an assistant coach to Erik ten Hag.
After United’s 2-0 victory over Rangers, Joe Hugill was quick to express his delight over Van Nistelrooy’s appointment. “We’ve been doing a few shooting drills and he’s been giving us a few tips,” Hugill explained, continuing, “But obviously it’s massive having Ruud here, especially for people like myself who are young and coming up.”
Now, several United stars have revealed how they think the former striker will improve the team’s fortunes on the field.
“I’ve come up against quite a few players in my time and he’s the best finisher I’ve ever seen,” goalkeeper Tom Heaton told The Telegraph in an article released this morning. “He’s been brilliant. His level of detail is superb. You’d be forgiven for thinking: ‘He’s a United legend coming in, is he just a face for it?’ But his level of detail – I’ve been in a couple of meetings – has been outstanding,” Heaton continued.
Christian Eriksen also shared his confidence in Van Nistelrooy and his coaching prospects, claiming he is “sure it’s going to go well.”
According to Jonny Evans, however, it’s not just the strikers who will benefit from Van Nistelrooy’s expertise.
“After he left United he had a spell when he went to Spain and he was talking about when he was under Manuel Pellegrini and real sort of diehard defensive coaches,” Evans revealed. “And I think he learned a lot and he saw real value in it. He’s probably himself quite obsessed about defensive structure and like you say, as a striker, I’m sure that was always quite interesting in terms of where he could score his goals.”
This is quite an intriguing observation by Evans. While the scorer of 150 goals in just 219 appearances for United, Van Nistelrooy will not just be able to unlock his strikers’ goalscoring potentials but also help defenders to get an insight into a top striker’s mind, thereby tightening up at the back and limiting goalscoring opportunities.
Of course, the United legend’s understanding of both attacking and defensive football came into use during his season as the head coach of PSV Eindhoven, where he managed to guide his team to the Dutch Cup.
Beyond Van Nistelrooy’s coaching abilities, however, there’s also his passion for United that is sure to propel him and his players forward. As noted in the article, even after receiving head coaching roles by the likes of Burnley, Van Nistelrooy was comfortable turning them down in favour of returning to Old Trafford, even as a coach serving under Ten Hag.
A deadly United striker back in the day and a capable coach with a proven albeit brief track record, Van Nistelrooy is set to be a major asset to the club’s coaching staff and it appears that his players know it. It will be thrilling to see how the United legend of days gone by helps to not only sharpen up his strikers’ skills but boosts the mentality of United’s defence as the club builds toward the new season.
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