Ruud van Nistelrooy can do something obvious to prove his Manchester United coaching credentials

Ten days ago it felt like there was a reasonable chance that Ruud van Nistelrooy would be leading Manchester United into their Premier League fixture against Brentford this weekend.

The club's former striker is the obvious candidate to replace Erik ten Hag on at least an interim basis and remains the favourite to land the job on a permanent basis. For now, there is no job to have.

Van Nistelrooy will once again form part of Ten Hag's staff against the Bees, with the United frontman surviving another fraught couple of weeks in the job he continues to cling to.

Body language experts will be out in force after the pair appeared to disagree on the bench at Villa Park before the international break. That fuelled speculation that Van Nistelrooy was ready to step in, with theories floating around that he had become a more visible presence of late.

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He has communicated with Ten Hag in the technical area far more readily than fellow assistant Rene Hake and he has returned applause to United fans when they have chanted his name in recent weeks. After 150 goals in 219 games, Van Nistelrooy will always be a fan favourite, and in another dismal season, his appointment has been one of few highlights.

The former PSV Eindhoven head coach will also remain a viable short-term option, with Ten Hag not out of danger yet. He survived last week's executive committee meeting but is on a run of five games without a win and has recorded just three victories in 11 games this season.

With United returning to action in 14th, Ten Hag knows there is little wriggle room