The former striker was speaking ahead of another must win clash as United welcome Leicester back to Old Trafford just over a week on from facing them in the Carabao Cup.
A full circle moment for Ruud as they were the first team he came up against in this interim stint and will be the last before he says goodbye.
Or will he?
When asked whether he would like to manager United in the future, Ruud said "of course" and that he "made the decision when I came here."
On his interim stint, the Dutchman says that "it was a special period" and that "it was important to get through the four games as good as we could."
He is also relatively happy with steadying the ship in these four games and believes that the team have done well but that Sunday is a game where victory is needed once again. Whilst it could be a farewell for Ruud, he wants to remain pragmatic but that he's also very proud at being able to be United boss even as an interim:
"I'm very proud to be able to fulfil this."
He also mentions once more that he is contracted to the club as assistant for the remainder of this season as well as next and has a desire to see out his contract as assistant.
Ruud has enjoyed his interim spell and that the reaction form the players was "outstanding." He's also been happy with the results in his three games in charge as United beat Sunday's opponents Leicester in the Carabao Cup 5-2 to progress to the quarterfinals, picked up a "good point" against Chelsea and got "a good result in the Europa League." The Dutchman believes that there is a slight shift in momentum.
The 48-year-old thinks that "there's a good feeling that we can turn things around" as so far, the season has been very forgetful. He finds that it's easier to takeover a team that has won two of their last three and that the connection between the team and fans is apparent.
As an ex-top striker himself, the interim was asked again if United need a proven goal scorer given the poor forms of both Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund. To that, Ruud said that there are some players who have gotten a certain amount of goals and assists but that when it comes to Zirkzee and Hojlund, the two are still young and "they still need to be developed." He also believes that there is potential with the two of them.
In terms of injuries, Ruud confirmed that Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw are back training on the pitch while he was happy to see minutes for Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount who cam on as substitutes in last night's win over PAOK.
However, Amad still needs to be assessed before making a decision on whether he will be ready for Sunday after he had to be taken off due to a problem he picked up at the end of the win over the Greeks. van Nistelrooy provided an update on Kobbie Mainoo as well saying that he is progressing in his recovery but that "he needs a bit more time."
Quotes via The United Stand.
Final Thoughts
Could he be full-time manager of United in the future? You never know but I think at the moment, Ruud is much like Hojlund and Zirkzee: young and unproven but with a lot of promise.
I think he needs to go and do something like what Xabi Alonso did with Bayer Leverkusen (managing a decent club in a decent league not go invincible and win almost every trophy available although that would be great) before he manages a club the size of United. I would love it if he does come back and takesover and wins titles with us but that is quite a way away.
I'm sure he is very proud of being interim and that he would like a fond sendoff on Sunday but as he keeps mentioning how he is contracted for the next two seasons, it says to me that he has never had any plans of leaving and would like to stay under Amorim.
These results would maybe make Amorim consider keeping Ruud to some capacity after he takes over but I honestly can't see that happening. I feel as though Amorim will bring in his staff and would want to move Ruud and the other coaches on which as harsh as it sounds, is something that I agree with.
Amorim obviously knows his staff for a long time and they've done pretty well together whereas he has no previous affiliation with Ruud and the others currently at United. To then have to explain to them what he wants from the team which will take time. I also don't think the club can afford to have so many coaches as well.
When he talks about the recent results being good and that he potentially leaves a better team behind than the one he took over with, I do sort of agree because at least we've won a couple of games but I think we would've felt a lot better if we saw some better performances.
The fact that the football is still quite shite and boring doesn't really fill us all with confidence nor make us think that perhaps Ruud should remain and follow in the footsteps of fellow legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and be given the wheel.
He has steadied the ship, it's better now than it was two weeks ago but I think a lot of us just want to get over the line on Sunday and begin under Amorim. That is where the real work starts.
I do hope he has a fond farewell against Leicester and we do see another 5-2 victory but with our team, there is just as much chance that we don't turn up at all.
Background Image: Ruud van Nistelrooy after Man Utd's 1-1 draw with Chelsea | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)