Who has Ruud van Nistelrooy managed before? Man United interim boss' coaching credentials outlined

Ruud van Nistelrooy will become the fourth ex-Manchester United player to have played under Sir Alex Ferguson to take charge of the club, following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.

Hired in the summer as a first team coach, van Nistelrooy has been appointed interim head coach after Ten Hag was sacked on Monday with United lying 14th in the Premier League on the back of a defeat at West Ham on Sunday. He had been given a contract extension this summer.

As the process begins to find a permanent replacement for ten Hag, van Nistelrooy has emerged as the bookmakers' favourite to get the job on a full-time basis.

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He scored 95 goals in 150 appearances across five years as a striker for United between 2001 and 2006, going on to spend four years at Real Madrid where he netted 46 goals in 68 outings. Productive spells at Hamburg and Malaga ended his career, in which he averaged more than a goal every other game for club and country.

A return to former club PSV Eindhoven followed where he coached the under-17s, under-19s, and reserve team. He was also Guus Hiddink's assistant for the Netherlands between 2014 and 2015. That was a role he also took up for Euro 2020 under manager Ronald Koeman - but they were knocked out in the last-16.

By that time, van Nistelrooy had been appointed permanent manager of PSV under-19s in 2018, before being named head coach of the senior team in 2022 on a three year contract.

In his first season he won the Johan Cruyff Shield and KNVB Cup but resigned one game before the end of the season with PSV guaranteed a second placed finish behind Feyenoord and a Champions League qualifying round spot. He led PSV to 33 wins from their 51 games with an impressive goal difference of +66.

He reportedly spent a year out watching football in South America and talking to coaches about his own philosophy, and has been credited with improving players on an individual basis. Dutch international Xavi Simons, for example, has said Van Nistelrooy 'taught him everything'.

However, his tenure at PSV was not short of controversy, with reports of fallouts with his assistants and some players going to the club's board over their frustrations with his management style.

After his year out, he returned to United as Ten Hag's assistant this summer, with a focus on their attackers given his playing career. Now, he has been appointed interim manager just three months after his return to Old Trafford.