I'd walk back into Manchester United in a heartbeat - if Ruud van Nistelrooy was boss

Erik ten Hag is under mounting pressure at Manchester United as a result of poor results and performances and his assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy has been tipped to take over

Ex-Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has expressed his willingness to make a comeback to Old Trafford, should the opportunity arise with Ruud van Nistelrooy at the helm. Following a rocky start to the season and a particularly poor performance in their 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, current manager Erik ten Hag is feeling the heat.

The team's narrow escape from defeat against Porto, thanks to a last-minute goal from Harry Maguire, did little to alleviate the pressure. With a challenging match against Aston Villa on the horizon, speculation about Ten Hag's future intensified after the Spurs game, with rumours suggesting he had the next two fixtures to secure his position before the international break.

Despite being handed a one-year contract extension post-FA Cup victory, Ten Hag's tenure remains uncertain, especially with the addition of club legend Van Nistelrooy as an assistant, which has only heightened scrutiny. Meulensteen, who was part of Sir Alex Ferguson's coaching team for six years, is open to the idea of joining forces with Van Nistelrooy again.

Speaking to Sam Allardyce's No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast by Footy Accumulators, Meulensteen said: "Ruud and I know each other really well because I worked with him and always stayed in touch," adding, "I rate him highly, I think he jumped the ship at PSV a little bit too soon, he was doing really well."

René Meulensteen has expressed his passion for making a real impact in any job he takes on, rather than just being a part of the team. He reminisced about his time at Manchester United, saying, "In those six years that I was the first team coach at Manchester United," and shared his fond memories, "I loved every minute of it, I didn't feel any negative pressure any day when I was driving up to Carrington, and that was totally down to the man management of Sir Alex Ferguson and how much he trusted us with what we were doing.", reports the Mirror.

He also mentioned the possibility of assisting Ruud van Nistelrooy if called upon: "If Ruud would come calling, you would help him of course you would, you would talk to him and say, 'Okay what can I do for you? '" Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag is focused on his role at Manchester United, not feeling the heat before the Porto game and highlighting his close relationship with sporting director Dan Ashworth: "We talk every day. We are a union and we made that commitment in the summer," Ten Hag stated.

"We refreshed the staff and I appointed my assistants, I appointed the staff. I did this. We refreshed the squad as well."

"It's not necessary to give me confidence. We talk every day about how we can improve this club, this team, improve the processes, the procedures, the connections. That is what we talk about."