Manchester United players are excited about the imminent arrival of Ruben Amorim as new head coach.

Dressing room sources say United squad members are impressed by Amorim’s work at Sporting and now optimistic of having a successful season.

United players have also been impressed with Ruud van Nistelrooy during his stint as interim coach. A well-placed source described Van Nistelrooy’s impact as “excellent” since he took over 11 days ago, having overseen two wins and a draw.

The majority of United squad members respected former manager Erik ten Hag but felt it was in everyone’s best interests for a change. Amorim will officially take over on Monday.

Van Nistelrooy reiterated after the 2-0 Europa League win against PAOK he has still not spoken to Amorim, who takes charge of Sporting for the final time at Braga on Sunday. Van Nistelrooy’s final match in interim charge is at home to Leicester on the same day.

“I think that Ruben, what he’s saying, he focuses on Braga and I focus on Leicester and that’s a great one for now,” Van Nistelrooy added. “It shows we are focused on the day by day job and getting the maximum out of the team. So let him focus on Braga, I will focus on Leicester and let’s see after that.

“I am only busy with one thing on my mind. I want my last game as an interim, I want to prepare it as good as I can and give the players everything they need to get the best performance out of them and hopefully get three very important games, keep them at Old Trafford, that’s my absolute focus.

“Other than that, I don’t really look too far ahead, to be honest. It’s too important.”

Van Nistelrooy, 48, is under contract at United as an assistant coach until 2026 and it is unclear if Amorim will keep him on as he plans to bring his own backroom staff to Manchester.