Every word from Ruud's press conference: Part two

The former United striker is in temporary charge until Ruben Amorim takes over the reins on 11 November, following the departure of Erik ten Hag.

Ruud was in the dugout for Wednesday’s 5-2 win over Leicester in the Carabao Cup and has been preparing the Reds for Sunday’s tough Premier League assignment against Chelsea (kick-off 16:30 GMT).

Speaking ahead of the Blues’ visit to M16, Van Nistelrooy fielded questions from the media at Carrington and, in the second part of the briefing, was asked about his future, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee and former United players who are now pundits.

Scroll down to have a read, and watch, what he had to say below…

Ruud, I know you've said the immediate job is you're looking at this and then you're going to go back to your contract as assistant. Long term, what's the career plan for you? Would you want to be a manager again at some stage in the future?
"That's a good question actually. Obviously, I think this would be the only job I would take as an assistant because of everything I've just explained. And for two years, for me it was important to get a feel of how it was going over the course of two years and, after that, to make a decision. Is this something that is fulfilling for me in my job? I have to say, for the moment, I really enjoyed the role. I really did."  

As an assistant?
"As an assistant."  

Just because it's here rather than an assistant?
"Obviously, the decision to make for Man United was a big one and that's why I'm in this role and I can commit myself to the role as assistant manager. I did it with great pride and I really enjoyed it and I will enjoy it again after this. After two years, I have to see how things go."

In that respect, all the players now will have a three-game early shop window to prove to the incoming manager that they should be part of his first-team thinking or his first-XI thinking. Does that go for you as well in some respects? You too are almost in the shop window to say: 'Look, every manager brings in their backroom team, stick with me, the one that you've got.' I know you've got a contract, but we've seen that things can change...
"Obviously, it can change. We all know that. But we'll see. I'm not thinking in that way, I'm not here to prove myself in that way. I'm here to help. I'm here to do the best I can. The club is the most important one and do the best we can to get a result on Sunday. That's my focus. All the other things are not in my mind."  

Can I ask you about Manuel Ugarte? Can you explain why you think the club signed him and why he maybe hasn't had that many chances yet this season? Also, with your history, has he got the ego to succeed at Manchester United where the pressure is so big?
"I'm convinced about Manuel that he will be a great player for United. I think yesterday he had a very good performance, against Fenerbahce he had a good performance. Getting players in an early conclusion, players that are here for two or three months, you should be careful with that I think. It's a great signing, very good player, professional, he has very specific qualities in midfield, gets in between players, can recover a lot of balls for us to get us in attacking positions. Also, on the ball, very decent so I think he will be a very good player for this club."  

People are putting two and two together because he played with Amorim, but is he someone you and Erik specifically targeted and wanted here anyway?
"The recruitment is not part of the assistant manager, but I can comment on working with Manuel on a daily basis. He's adjusting, he wants to adjust, he wants to be part of this club, do well and he's very motivated to do so. He's getting better every time, the performance yesterday was good and he can build on that. We are very thin in midfield, the coming games, we're going to definitely need him and I think he'll do well in the coming games."

You weren't a bad striker yourself, what do you think about Joshua Zirkzee at the moment? What do you think his strengths are and what do you think are the areas he needs to improve in?
"Josh is similar to Manuel Ugarte's situation. Josh came in, he's a young player with a lot of potential. He's a typical number nine in the sense of his hold-up play is very good, he's very strong in the combination play, he's a different type than Rasmus. Rasmus is more of a nine that plays higher up on the pitch, getting in the back of defenders and Josh is more the one coming to the ball and getting the team playing. The Crystal Palace game, he was excellent, it was one of his best performances and showed his potential. Another one with a lot of talent. A good age, a lot of potential to develop, look after, give him time, he will get better and better and better, and I think also will be a very good player for this club."  

You probably know better than anyone else in this room from your time here that the noise around United is deafening at the best of times, let alone when they're changing managers et cetera. Also, you have the issue that in the media, you have many high-profile players that you've played with: Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves. All these guys have an opinion on the club and sometimes that's a painful opinion. As a manager coming into this club, do you think that's fair they should be under that scrutiny from ex-players that have been successful? Secondly, are you prepared for those guys that you played with to give you a kicking on Sunday if you lose to Chelsea?
"We all do our jobs, don't we? I think, basically, they care for the club and want the club to do well and they're disappointed as well that it doesn't go well with the club. I think it's absolutely fine and I don't take it personal. When I see them, I have a cup of coffee with them and I don't have any problems with that. I appreciate them as former colleagues, some of them I'm still in touch with and that's the path they choose. Others stay in football more on the football side, so for me it's absolutely fine."  

If they were to turn their attentions to you on Sunday, would that be a problem?
"In the end, you're going to be judged and I think yesterday was good, very positive, we got positive critics and everybody's positive. In football, things can change, things can continue, I don't believe the hype that much, I don't believe the drama that much, I know it's the world we live in. For me, it's important to stay calm, stay focused, do my job on a daily basis. I think that also has to be the case for this club, we're not going to turn it around from today to tomorrow, but we're going to get it done, and I believe in that over the longer future."