- Ruud van Nistelrooy insisted on the importance of following Ferguson’s mantra
- Amorim will bring his own ideas, but Van Nistelrooy wants that spirit to remain
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Ruud van Nistelrooy has ordered his players to abide by a golden rule put in place by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
The Dutchman continues his interim tenure in charge of United when they host Chelsea on Sunday afternoon before Ruben Amorim arrives from Sporting Lisbon on November 11.
While Amorim will become United’s seventh manager since Sir Alex retired in 2013, Van Nistelrooy does not want his stars to lose sight of the Scot’s key message.
That demand comes despite Ferguson, 82, being removed from his £2million-a-year club ambassadorship amid Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting regime.
“Ferguson said, ‘No one is bigger than the club,'” Van Nistelrooy began.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has reminded his Manchester United stars of Sir Alex Ferguson’s golden rule: “Nobody is bigger than the club”
United returned to winning ways with a 5-2 Carabao Cup victory over Leicester in midweek.
‘Anyone can shout it. But if then, as Ferguson did, you give substance to your own words with every decision, every choice, everything becomes different.
“Then the players know, ‘This is how it works here.’ Take fan interaction for example. Always thank people after a game, good or bad.
‘Or in the hotels we come to and where there are fans. Just giving an autograph. Take a photo.
‘Ferguson demanded of us at the time that we take time for that. I’m there now too. And I encourage it in the players. Do I think it’s an example of something important culturally? Yeah.
“He is present at all the home games. That’s when we meet.
“He also came to watch Rangers when I coached PSV Eindhoven in Glasgow in the Champions League in 2022. I really appreciated it.
‘Ferguson also openly states how good it is that he’s back. How good do you think that is? How nice.
‘This man has influenced a very important part of my football life. I was able to achieve my achievements at United partly thanks to him. “He motivated, inspired and guided me during that period.”
Ferguson was recently relieved of his £2m-a-year ambassadorship at United
United face Chelsea on Sunday afternoon and could jump into the top half of the league table.
Van Nistelrooy won his first interim match 5-2 over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup last 16 in midweek, coming on after Erik ten Hag was sacked with United 14th in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have not won the Premier League title since Ferguson retired and Amorim, who won two Portuguese crowns with Sporting Lisbon, will hope not to end up on the scrap heap like others who have followed the icon.
He still has a notice period to go with Sporting, who top the table with 10 wins out of 10, an encouraging sign for the Old Trafford faithful.
The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal after United activated his £8.3million release clause.
