"It's wrong" - Pundit expresses shock at Ruud van Nistelrooy, Burnley FC claims | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer is astonished that the Dutchman has been linked to the Clarets job with Scott Parker currently in charge

Carlton Palmer has revealed his shock and frustration at suggestions recent Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy is being eyed as a potential replacement for current Burnley boss Scott Parker.

Van Nistelrooy took his first steps into management in English football over the last few weeks as stand-in Red Devils boss, following Erik ten Hag sacking in late October, after he had initially been appointed as an assistant coach in July.

He has now departed Old Trafford, though, as a result of incoming full-time manager Ruben Amorim's decision not to keep him on as a coach, and the Dutchman has since been reported to still be of interest to the Clarets.

Burnley were previously linked with a move to make van Nistelrooy their manager in the summer, but the decision was taken out of their hands somewhat as he joined ten Hag's coaching staff, yet The Sun has claimed this week that they could now look to revisit that situation if they feel they are heading in the wrong direction under Parker.

Carlton Palmer rubbishes talk of van Nistelrooy taking over at Burnley

van Nistelrooy enjoyed a fruitful, albeit short, time at the helm at Old Trafford, with three wins, two against Leicester City and another against PAOK, and a draw against Chelsea, as he restored some of the squad's belief ahead of Amorim's arrival.

His managerial CV does not stretch too far beyond that, though, and his only other experience as the main man in the dugout at a senior side came in 2022/23 with PSV Eindhoven, as he led his side to second place in the Eredivisie, but resigned with a game to spare after feeling he did not receive enough support within the club.

Parker, meanwhile, despite rumblings at Turf Moor that his style of play is not the right one to take the club back to the Premier League, has two promotions from the Championship with Fulham and Bournemouth on his record, and speaking exclusively to Football League World, former player and current pundit Carlton Palmer expressed his shock at the reports that the Clarets could look to replace him with the Dutchman soon.

He said: “Why this is doing the rounds, I have no idea.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy apparently has been linked with the Burnley job, but why?

“I know that Burnley will be looking to get an immediate return to the Premier League, but they’re only four points off top of the table, so why would they be looking to replace Scott Parker?

“I don’t think this is anything inevitable soon.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy is a legend of the club at Manchester United, but I was a little bit mystified as to what happened there. If he was brought in by Erik ten Hag, then he should have left when he was sacked.

“Everybody is talking about how well he did after ten Hag left - if you look at the games they played, I think they are games that would have been won by ten Hag.

“Him now being linked with the Burnley job, I think it’s wrong. Scott Parker is doing a fantastic job, and Ruud van Nistelrooy is still untested as a manager.

“Yes, he did a good interim job at Manchester United, and the players seem to have liked him, but he’s a legend of that club.

“I don’t believe that Scott Parker will be leaving Burnley anytime soon.”

The Clarets' only aim is an immediate promotion back to the top-flight this season, and anything less will indicate a failure, so the pressure is certainly on Parker to get it right, and prove that he is the man to take the club forward.

His side began the new season on fire, with a 4-1 win over Luton Town and a 5-0 thrashing of Cardiff City in the opening two games, and while they continued to pick up regular victories to stay in the promotion race, recent weeks have seen their form match their less-than-impressive performances.

The Clarets have won one of their last five outings, with draws against Hull City, QPR, and West Brom and a loss to Millwall before a win last time against Swansea City to end their poor run, thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from Jay Rodriguez.

The statistics behind their performances this term certainly back up supporters' frustrations, and while they still sit fourth in the Championship, they are 11th in the league for goals scored despite their wealth of attacking talent.

According to Sofascore, the Clarets are also 21st for big chances created and ninth for shots per game, while FotMob has them 21st for expected goals (xG), and 18th for touches in the opposition box.

Van Nistelrooy may not be set to take over at Turf Moor in the near future, but he could well be waiting patiently in the wings for his chance if performances don't improve, and results continue to go against Parker's side in the coming weeks.