- The Red Devils were beaten 3-0 by Spurs on Sunday to increase the pressure on the boss
- Keown has suggested his old foe Van Nistelrooy is ‘waiting to take over the team’
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Ruud van Nistelrooy is ‘waiting to take over’ from compatriot Erik ten Hag at Manchester United after the humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham, his old foe Martin Keown has suggested.
The Red Devils had a miserable Sunday afternoon as they were convincingly mauled by Ange Postecoglou’s side at Old Trafford, thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke.
The ordeal piled further pressure on embattled boss ten Hag, whose two-year spell at the club appears to be coming to an end, with United in 12th place behind Brentford.
Assistant manager Van Nistelrooy was able to patrol the sidelines alongside his compatriot for the entire game. The former Red Devils striker returned to the team this summer.
Now Arsenal legend Keown, who had a number of heated feuds with the Dutchman during his playing career, has told talksport that he thinks van Nistelrooy could be in line to replace Ten Hag.
Ruud van Nistelrooy is ‘waiting to take over’ from Erik ten Hag at Manchester United after the humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham, his old foe Martin Keown has suggested
The ordeal added further pressure on beleaguered boss ten Hag, whose two-year spell at the club appears to be coming to an end.
Assistant manager Van Nistelrooy was able to patrol the sidelines alongside his compatriot for the entire game
Now Keown, who has had a number of heated feuds with the Dutchman throughout his playing career, has told talkSport that he believes Van Nistelrooy could replace Ten Hag.
He said: ‘I’m looking at Van Nistelrooy. Does he give everything to this manager? This manager looks very lonely on the sidelines.
‘Is Van Nistelrooy waiting for a takeover? Because it looks like change is going to happen there.
‘Does everyone join the group? I don’t see that from Van Nistelrooy. Ten Hag just sits there, nothing is happening, no conversation. Fut [Guardiola] goes back and speaks to the gurus next to him.
‘Does everyone look in the mirror at themselves giving the best of themselves?’
Keown’s most infamous encounter with Van Nistelrooy came during the Battle of Old Trafford in 2003, where the Arsenal centre-back celebrated in the United striker’s face when he missed a penalty.
The Englishman was fined £20,000 and given a three-match ban after the incident which took place in the final seconds of a goalless clash between the two title contenders.
A mass brawl ensued, but Keown insists Van Nistelrooy himself was responsible for sending off Gunners captain Patrick Vieira earlier in the match, suggesting the Dutch international’s theatrics influenced the referee’s decision.
Bruno Fernandes was shown a red card for scraping the leg of Spurs player James Maddison with his boot just before half-time during a torrid Red Devils performance.
Earlier today it was reported that United are under fire for Hag, but the Dutchman faces a potentially crucial week in the battle to save his job.
Sources say the club remains calm in the face of the latest storm engulfing the manager and is uncomfortable with any suggestion he has two games to avoid his sacking.
Keown’s most infamous confrontation with Van Nistelrooy came during the Battle of Old Trafford in 2003
Tottenham Hotspur produced a free-flowing attacking display to condemn ten-man Manchester United to a crushing 3-0 defeat
Bruno Fernandes was shown a red card for scraping the leg of Spurs player James Maddison with his boot
Ange Postecoglou’s side have recorded four straight wins in all competitions and could have achieved six or seven
But there is acceptance that results must improve and United will be keen to see a response from Ten Hag’s side in Thursday’s Europa League match against FC Porto and Sunday’s away match against Aston Villa.
It is followed by a two-week international break, which would give United’s minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe a clear opportunity to make a change if he decides Ten Hag’s time is up.
United have lost half of their six Premier League games this season, including back-to-back 3-0 defeats at home to Spurs and Liverpool.