MANCHESTER: Ruud van Nistelrooy’s assistant at PSV Eindhoven, Andre Ooijer, revealed that the former interim manager of Manchester United was disappointed when he had to leave Old Trafford.

The former Dutch and Blackburn defender said that his best friend wanted to remain as an assistant coach at Man United.

Van Nistelrooy took charge of the 13th-placed Premier League club on an interim basis after Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.

He recorded three wins and a draw in four games under his charge, before Ruben Amorim took over the Man United squad.

Amorim also brought his coaching line and Van Nistelrooy had to leave Old Trafford after his name was not in the plans of the former Sporting Lisbon manager.

“Ruud wants to stay as an assistant. He will say something if he is not interested in working with Amorim.

“Ruud had the opportunity to become a manager at another club, but he chose to work at the club he loves the most.

“Don’t forget, Ruud was brilliant (as a manager) at United, drew against Chelsea and won the other three games. You can see the fans love him.

“He excels in difficult situations. He has never lost as a manager.

“If Amorim fails to get good results in the first few games, the fans will definitely ask Ruud to come back,” said Ooijer.

Amorim will be tested in his first game as United manager against Ipswich on November 24.

LONDON: England captain Harry Kane criticized several players who withdrew from the national team ahead of the League of Nations action against Greece and Ireland, stating yesterday that the country must always come before the club.

England face Greece in Athens early tomorrow morning followed by Ireland three days later at Wembley but nine players, some in the starting line-up, have been called up while boss Lee Carsley pulls out through injury.

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and Phil Foden, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite have all withdrawn from the squad.

Kane said that didn’t happen when Gareth Southgate was in charge because he created an atmosphere where players couldn’t wait to get into the England training camp.

“The joy of playing for England, I think he sparked it. Every camp, the players are excited to come, the players want to play for England and that’s the most important thing. I think England is more important than the club,” Kane told ITV Sport.

“It’s the most important thing you do as a professional footballer. Gareth is good about it and he’s not afraid to make a decision if it starts to deviate from certain players.

“It’s been a shame this week. Obviously I think it’s the toughest period of the season now and maybe some have taken a bit of advantage of it. I really don’t like it to be honest… I think England have to come first before anything else.”

While Kane is currently enjoying a winter break from football following his move to German giants Bayern Munich, the player at the English club faces a busy festive season.

New England manager Thomas Tuchel will only take over in the new year but he has no chance to work with the squad until the next international break next March.

Carsley said the withdrawal from the squad gave other players a chance to impress the new coach.

“Harry has his own opinion but I can only work with what’s in front of us,” said Carsley, who will end his interim spell against Ireland on Sunday.

LONDON: Enzo Maresca shouted a warning to Arsenal that Chelsea’s management is now different from the squad that was beaten 5-0 by the club when under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino.

Maresca will face Mikel Arteta’s men looking to prove his squad’s ability against the top flight since replacing Pochettino last summer.

Chelsea have lost to Manchester City and Liverpool this season, and drew with Manchester United last weekend.

Although Cole Palmer is not fit enough to start the game, Maresca believes his men are capable of challenging Arsenal at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.

“I didn’t know during the last two years how he felt. But now, I’m sure we can compete and beat any team.

“We are on the right track. I hope this Sunday we can give the fans a good day.

“Arsenal is so close to the best team in England, Manchester City. I want to win a game like this.

“From the beginning I stressed, I will analyze the performance rather than the result. You think we should lose to Liverpool?

“I hope we can win on Sunday. We were so close against Liverpool and City. We shouldn’t have lost,” Maresca said.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy believes his side can bounce back from their worst start to the season after seeing his team’s spirit shown in the two games since Erik ten Hag was sacked.

Moises Caicedo’s second-half strike cancelled out United’s early penalty for a 1-1 draw in the Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

Despite not managing to collect full points, Van Nistelrooy said there were positives to take from the match.

“We take the lead first and the performance, with the spirit shown, is the basis for building a team… then the quality of football will emerge.

“That is the basis needed to build it, and there is still a lot of time to improve the position,” said Van Nistelrooy.

The draw saw United climb one place, to 13th after 10 games.

Van Nistelrooy said, since the day Ten Hag was fired, the situation has been very difficult for the team.

“Six days, emotions up and down, obviously very sad to see Erik go, the next day you have to focus again for the game against Leicester (Wednesday’s 5-2 League Cup win), because 75,000 fans will be at Old Trafford, so we have a responsibility , and the players realize they need to do better,” he said.

United’s nine goals in 10 games, the third-worst in the league, is their lowest tally at this level since the 1973-74 league campaign.

LONDON: Ruben Amorim has been announced as Manchester United’s new manager to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.

The 39-year-old Portuguese coach, who won two Primeira Liga titles with Sporting Lisbon, signed a contract until 2027 and will join the club on November 11.

“Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Ruben Amorim as head coach of the men’s first team, subject to work visa requirements,” United said on their official website.

“He will be with the team until June 2027 with an additional year option, once he completes his responsibilities with his current club.”

United describe Amorim as one of the most exciting and high-calibre young coaches in European football.

Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to manage the team until Amorim arrives at Old Trafford.

United sacked Ten Hag on Monday after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham left them 14th in the Premier League, with just three wins from nine games.

LONDON: Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Erik ten Hag will be back at “a big club again” after being sacked by Manchester United.

Ten Hag’s two-year spell as United manager came to an end yesterday, with the English giants languishing in 14th place in the league following a 2-1 defeat at West Ham last weekend – his final game in charge.

Slot’s team was also involved in putting pressure on his compatriot from the Netherlands, Ten Hag with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford last September.

But despite the animosity between Liverpool and United, the Reds boss – in his first season in the hot seat at Anfield after replacing Jurgen Klopp – was sympathetic when asked about the Ten Hag during yesterday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s League Cup clash with Brighton at home.

“He is a Dutch manager which makes it more difficult for me,” said Slot, 46.

“I sympathize with his plight. We’re all in this job so we know it can happen.

“I only know him a little bit and I know how hard he works. For him it’s certainly disappointing. But we also know how good he was at Ajax and he won two trophies (League Cup and FA Cup) here.

“I think you’ll see him at a big club again after this.”

Ten Hag helped United deny Premier League champions Manchester City a domestic double with a surprise FA Cup final victory over their neighbors at Wembley last May.

“I feel really sorry for him, it’s one of the best jobs in football,” City manager Pep Guardiola said of Ten Hag.

“There’s only us, not teachers or architects or anything like that.

“I wish him the best and he will come back stronger. If the results are not good enough, you will be fired. No one is different, including myself.”

LONDON: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said he could only blame his team’s finishing after the 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham late last night.

United slumped to 14th in the Premier League (EPL) table after Jarrod Bowen’s controversial stoppage-time penalty gifted the Hammers all three points.

Crysencio Summerville put West Ham ahead against the run of play 16 minutes from time before Casemiro equalised.

Ten Hag were furious at the awarding of the penalty after VAR intervened when Matthijs de Ligt collided with Danny Ings in the penalty box.

United captain Bruno Fernandes’ red card was withdrawn after he was sent off in last month’s 3-0 defeat at Tottenham and Ten Hag said VAR was inconsistent in challenging the referee’s decision in the middle of the pitch.

“Before the season they explained the VAR process – only when it was clear they could intervene,” said Ten Hag.

“What they didn’t do against Spurs, it was a bad decision. Now they made a bad decision and they both had an impact on the game. I’m not criticizing the officials, I’m criticizing the process.”

However, less sharp finishing in front of goal caused United to fail to get a much-needed win.

Diogo Dalot missed chances despite the goal gaping, while Alejandro Garnacho and Fernandes were guilty of missing golden opportunities in their dominant first half.

“We created too many chances, played good football, especially in the first half. That’s how I want my team to perform whether with the ball or not,” stressed Ten Hag.

United’s tally of eight goals from their first nine games is their worst in the EPL era.

BARCELONA: Barcelona manager Hansi Flick says his side’s 4-1 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League has boosted their confidence ahead of Saturday’s Clasico clash with Real Madrid.

Former Bayern boss Flick is happy to help Barca end their win streak over the German club.

“This win is unbelievable. Bayern are a good team, with great players who know how to play very well, you want to see them in action.

“Of course a win like this needs to be celebrated. It gives us confidence in our quality ahead of this Saturday’s game.

“What this team showed proved that you can achieve great success. We played very bravely, that’s why I’m quite happy

“We have less time than Real Madrid to prepare for the Clasico, but all the players want to play. We will be ready,” said Flick.

After losing six in a row – with Barcelona conceding 22 goals to Bayern’s just four, including an 8-2 defeat in the Champions League quarter-finals four years ago – the Spanish giants have been more aggressive this time around.

Raphinha scored a hat-trick to seal Barcelona’s win at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium, with former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski also scoring.

Bayern burst into the game with a single goal through Harry Kane.

WOLVERHAMPTON, England: Manchester City’s controversial last-minute winner against Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday was justified and justified by his players’ patience, manager Pep Guardiola said.

As City looked set for a disappointing 1-1 draw at Molineux despite full possession, John Stones headed in a 95th-minute corner beyond the reach of Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.

Referee Chris Kavanagh initially disallowed the goal because City midfielder Bernardo Silva was too close to Sa, but the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled he was not obstructing vision and Kavanagh reversed the decision.

“Bernardo didn’t disturb the position… Sa had perfect vision. Phil’s (Foden) corner and header were amazing,” said Guardiola, who wildly celebrated the 2-1 win, making it a club record 31 league games without lose.

“We are not used to winning games at the end of action, like Jurgen Klopp (former manager) in Liverpool where it happened many times. It is a good feeling for us,” he told the media.

Guardiola’s men had 78 percent of possession against Wolves, who are struggling at the bottom of the league and were desperate to defend once they took an early lead.

“With 11 players in the penalty box, basically it’s too difficult,” said Guardiola, recalling his side’s defeat at Molineux last season. “But we persevered… We stuck to our ways and it was too good.”

He however sympathized with the opposing team.

“We’ve been in that situation, when you lose at the end of the action. But this is the game,” said Guardiola.

“We played the way we wanted to play and it’s nice to be here, to score in the last 50 seconds and go top of the league (for a while).”

With Sparta Prague awaiting them in the Champions League early this Thursday morning, Guardiola said he did not believe injured defender Kyle Walker or midfielder Kevin De Bruyne could be ready to start.

“We have a few days to train, but I don’t think so (both will perform),” he said.

LONDON: Roy Keane says, Pep Guardiola is the right person to guide England, if Lee Carsley is not interested in becoming a permanent manager.

After losing 2-1 at the hands of Greece, England, who were temporarily controlled by Carsley, came back to beat Finland 3-1.

His gamble – dropping Dean Henderson for the first time in four years and deploying Trent Alexander-Arnold at left-back – proved to be paying off.

Liverpool defender Jack Grealish and Declan Rice were on target at the Olympic Stadium to secure victory in the UEFA Nations League action.

But England are still looking for Gareth Southgate’s replacement with Carsley more likely to return to guide the country’s under-21 squad.

According to Keane, England should be looking for the best manager to continue the mission of the group of talented players that are currently there.

“Take Pep (Guardiola), take the best. The FA needs to find the best, I don’t know if financial factors play a role.

“If Lee is not interested, the FA should continue to look for the right individual,” Keane said.

Guardiola’s contract at Manchester City expires next summer.

After winning his first two games as caretaker manager, Carsley began to be positioned as a candidate to replace Southgate on a permanent basis.

But the manager of England’s youth squad feels that he is not yet eligible for promotion and is more interested in continuing his mission with the under-21 squad.