“Although I regret my action but here’s the reason I refused to work with him”: Manchester United’s coach Ruben Amorim has revealed what really made him to sack Ruud van Nistelrooy as his assistant coach

Amorim decided there was no room for the former United striker when he was appointed as head coach in November and brought in his coaching team from Sporting Lisbon, but the 39-year-old has lost eight of his 19 games in charge.

Van Nistelrooy returns to Old Trafford as Leicester City manager on Friday night when United face their Premier League rivals in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

But Amorim has no regrets, claiming it would have been wrong to install Van Nistelrooy above his own assistants or expect the 48-year-old to accept a junior role on the staff.

‘It was not a difficult situation, because it was so clear for me, I just had to explain,’ he said. ‘He is a man of football and he understands this situation. I have my team and my staff. I prefer to work with a team that brought me here.

‘I could keep Ruud because it was a good thing for me or a popular thing to do. But I will not put Ruud in front of my guys, no matter what.

‘Then I had to put a person like Ruud in the end of the hierarchy on my staff, and I think that was not fair on Ruud.

‘To show respect to Ruud, I was really clear with him. I explained I have my team and I will continue the same way, and I will not put a guy like Ruud, a legend of this club, in the end of the hierarchy in the staff.

‘So was the clear decision, really simple to explain, and he took it like a class guy as he is.’

Asked about the fact that both Van Nistelrooy and Ten Hag have a better record than him at United this season, Amorim replied: ‘They were better than me in training this team. It’s really hard because I’m a really proud guy, but I take this normally.

‘It’s not awkward. He (Van Nistelrooy) knew the team and he worked with the team. I made some decisions that are really hard, to sometimes create problems, friction in the team.

‘I’m trying to help the players see the game the way I see, to improve the performance, and also the results.’

Van Nistelrooy revealed that he will put teenagers Jeremy Monga, 15, and Jake Evans, 16, on the bench, saying: ‘It’s an occasion where opportunities for players can happen.’