Ruud van Nistelrooy Man United theory has already been suggested as Erik ten Hag option clear

Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant manager Rene Meulensteen has already endorsed Ruud van Nistelrooy to replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.

Ten Hag is facing increasing pressure after Tottenham inflicted a 3-0 defeat on ten-man United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Despite suffering another loss by three goals, which leaves them six points outside the top four after six games, the former Ajax head coach played down concerns.

United face FC Porto in the Champions League before a trip to Unai Emery's Aston Villa before the international break. After the drubbing, the former United striker Van Nistelrooy emerged as one of the favourites to succeed Ten Hag - despite only joining the backroom staff in the summer.

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Speaking to Gambling Zone in August, Meulenstene tipped the 48-year-old to succeed in the Old Trafford dugout. He said: "I don’t think Erik ten Hag will be worried about Rudd van Nistelrooy potentially replacing him, he’s too focused on the job at hand.

"But who knows what the future will bring, if United stutter at the start of the season and the results don’t go their way, Sir Jim Ratcliffe would consider Van Nistelrooy, but at the moment they believe that Erik is the right man and now we need to see what happens.

"When it comes to Ruud van Nistelrooy potentially managing Manchester United in the future, you need to have experience and not be overwhelmed as a manager for that job.

"The advantage of Ruud is he knows how big Manchester United are as a club and there are two key elements. If you get it right on the pitch, it becomes easy off the pitch."

He added: