Manchester United’s dismal start to the campaign meant INEOS had no choice but to sack Erik ten Hag, following which as they installed Ruud van Nistelrooy as the interim boss.
The former club striker, along with the rest of Ten Hag’s coaching staff, steadied the Red Devils ship, remaining unbeaten in four games including three emphatic triumphs.
He had expressed hope of staying on as an assistant manager under the new head coach Ruben Amorim but despite the impressive tenure, the Portuguese decided not to keep the Dutchman around and brought in his own staff.
The club announced the departure of Van Nistelrooy as well as rest of Ten Hag’s support staff including assistant Rene Hake, goalkeeper coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar and performance analyst Pieter Morel.
Coaching staff revamp
The ex-Sporting Lisbon manager has brought in six support staff with him and The Daily Mail have revealed that two former coaches are set to be retained in some capacity
Darren Fletcher, formerly the club’s technical director, is set to remain. He has been at the club since 2020 and has now worked under four managers.
He is likely to be a conduit between the first team and the academy but will not be present for Amorim’s opening game due to a recent FA fine.
There is also likely to be a role for Andreas Georgson, who was brought in from Lillestrom as set-piece coach in the summer. It certainly looks like he was an INEOS hire more than a Ten Hag choice.
“The four backroom staff who have departed in the wake of Amorim’s arrival – assistants Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake, goalkeeper coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar and performance analyst Pieter Morel – are also due a pay-off.
Two coaches set to stay
“Darren Fletcher is set to survive the cull and remain on the staff to provide continuity after serving under four previous managers – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Ten Hag and Van Nistelrooy.
“There is also likely to be a role for Andreas Georgson, who left his job as Lillestrom boss to join United in July. Georgson knows United’s technical director Jason Wilcox from their time together at Southampton.”
Plenty of fans have spoken out regarding the club’s decision to let go of Van Nistelrooy while keeping Fletcher but the former striker’s future was decided by Amorim and not the new co-owners.
He decided to remove sentimentality from the equation, a bold choice. Whether it works out in the end will be interesting to see. As for the two remaining coaches, hopefully they can prove their worth in the coming days.
Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
