'Ruben Amorim was right to axe Ruud van Nistelrooy from his Manchester United staff'

Over four matches, Ruud van Nistelrooy did a fine job as caretaker manager of Manchester United but there was never any chance he would be kept on by Ruben Amorim. Not only would it have been awkward to have a club legend and fans favourite who had just won three out of four as temporary boss as a support act, there would have been no space in the backroom. Amorim has brought at least five assistants with him - coaches Carlos Fernandes, Adel Candido and Emmanuel Ferro, along with goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital and sports scientist Paulo Barrera.

But, don’t forget, United is a club that has a couple of sporting directors in INEOS man Sir Dave Brailsford and Dan Ashworth and a technical director in Jason Wilcox. They have assembled some brains trust at Old Trafford..



. now, they just need a decent football team. The real star of Match of the Day is the football Knowing a few of the characters who have been suggested as successors to Gary Lineker on Match of the Day, I should probably have a view on who gets the gig when he steps away at the end of the season.

But I haven’t, really. Most of the names mentioned - Mark Chapman, Alex Scott, Kelly Cates, and so on - would do a fine job and, look, most of us tune in purely to watch the handy bite-sized highlights, so who really cares? Lineker, a consummate broadcaster and very nice guy, will be missed but the star of the show is the football. The outgoing presenter did, though, hint that the programme might be going in a slightly “different direction”, which could be a bit worrying.

On the other hand, if a “different direction” means a little less of the matey banter that has been a speciality of the analysts for so many years, then we should be all for it. Remarkable Ronaldo deserves more credit For some reason, it is almost going unnoticed, but Cristiano Ronaldo ’s rewriting of the record books is one of the footballing stories of the year. After a penalty and a wonderful bicycle kick in Portugal’s 5-1 Nations League win over Poland, Ronaldo now has 135 goals.

He has now featured in 132 international wins, a new record. He now has 910 goals for club and country. Ronaldo will turn 40 in less than three months.

He is a remarkable footballer, a remarkable athlete, a remarkable sportsman. And considering his unmatched global fame, it seems a strange thing to say but he is one who does not get the credit he deserves. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.

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