Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag after a horrendous start to the 2024/25 season.
The Dutch tactician was informed on Monday morning and leaves Old Trafford after two and a half years in charge with his final game proving to be the Premier League away defeat to West Ham United on Sunday. That result left the Red Devils 14th in the table, seven points off the Champions League qualification spots.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, recruited in the off-season to work alongside Erik ten Hag, has been asked to take interim charge with the rest of the management staff in place now, while Manchester United start working on recruiting a permanent head coach.
Now with Nistelrooy at the helm—certainly on a short-term basis, here are three things he needs to do to turn around the club’s fortunes after a disastrous start to the campaign.
#Change in tactics
Man United had a relatively defined target style under Ten Hag, who wanted to make the club the ‘best transition team in the world’. However, it did not pan out due to injuries to key players, inconsistency and players playing out of position
After how alarmingly open the Red Devils were last season, the Dutchman decided to adopt a more pragmatic approach this time around with the team pressing in a 4-4-2 shape rather than man-to-man. While the plan hasn’t quite worked out and Man United have lost heavily to Liverpool and Tottenham, the fact of the matter is they have kept four clean sheets out of nine games.
The base is there for Nistelrooy to build upon, and as the 4-2-3-1 formation hasn’t quite clicked, he must look to change it to a 4-3-3 in the upcoming games.
#Give confidence to senior members of the squad
While there was a lot to be desired from Ten Hag from a tactical point of view, there remains no excuse for the performances of so many players this season, chiefly the senior pros in the team.
Marcus Rashford has scored just one goal in nine league games so far, while Bruno Fernandes is yet to open his account. It is a far cry from the 30 goals across all competitions that Rashford had scored during the 2022/23 season, while the skipper’s usually high goal contributions have dried up substantially, even though he remains the team’s chance creator-in-chief.
Nistelrooy and his staff must look to give Rashford and Fernandes a lot of belief and help the duo re-gain their lost mojo to get United’s season back on track.
#Restore Amad Diallo in the starting XI
Ten Hag’s decisions continued to raise eyebrows, particularly concerning winger Amad Diallo. His choice to overlook the Ivory Coast international for the starting right-wing spot has drawn constant criticism from the fanbase, especially considering his strong performances earlier this season.
Amad Diallo is a talented player and gave glimpses of his potential since the second half of last season. He was surprisingly omitted from the first XI in the last few games with Ten Hag using Rashford on the right and Garnacho from the opposite flank. With Rashford better off the left, Nistelrooy should look to restore Amad in his side and give him a run of games. The Red Devils have looked better in terms of possession and creativity with the Ivorian on the pitch while bringing balance to their attack.