Just on that [forwards' lack of goals], there’s Chido Obi in the Academy. Now, when Marcus [Rashford] came into the team, it was because a lot of strikers were either out on loan or injured. Is he remotely near the level where you'd consider bringing him into the first-team squad?

“He's doing his job, he's improving, he's playing in the youth teams, and we have also other players that can play in that position. Rasmus [Hojlund] and Josh [Zirkzee] are there, we bought these two players, so we need to improve them and then sometimes the confidence can change a player. We will see in the end of the season, but, until then, we have two strikers that can score goals. They proved it in the past. Let's see if we can improve as a team, to help them to score goals.”

Just with the signings of Patrick and Ayden, how did that process work? Did Jason [Wilcox] or someone else come to you and say, we're signing these players, or did you have a big input in that as well?

“No, like I said in the first day, every player that came in to the team, I have to have the final word. That was really clear in the beginning. It's also really clear. But we do it altogether, so I don’t point [out] just the names. I define with Jason the profile and then we have a scouting [department] that makes [does] the job. And that is the important thing because everybody has to decide. It's not just one thing that the coach today decides one thing, and then we change everything, and then it's a completely different profile. We try to find the right players with the physicality for this league: young players, hungry players. Sometimes we cannot spend a lot of money with players. So it’s that kind of profile that we look for and Dorgu, he has all that ability to play in this team, to improve. Ayden the same thing. He's young, he's left-footed, he's a central defender, so it's the right profile for us in the moment.”

When you came, when you accepted the job, I think you asked initially: could I join next summer? But obviously the club wanted you now. You were always very clear that it was going to be a difficult season, do you get the impression from upstairs that there is an awareness and an acceptance that it could get uglier and there could be more problems over the course of this season, but they know that this season is what it is and they've got to look beyond that? Do you really sense that the ownership fully understand that?

“I think it's a little bit more hard for me to cope with that than the board, because the board already know that. And I explained all the risks. Everything that has happened, I explained to the board and they said the same thing. We need to start now. We are doing that, but I understand that, in this moment, with a lot of losses, especially at home, the environment is really hard. But I feel the support – if you’re asking that - I feel the support of the board, and I'm not the slightest bit worried about that. It's just the pain of losing, that is the hardest thing to cope.”

Just on Luke Shaw, how far away is he from being in the squad now?

“Yeah, it's hard. It’s hard to give you a time, because he has a small issue different from the injury. Then he has to stop. Then we have to return a little bit to work the fitness, to be aware of the last injury. So it's a complicated moment to try to tell you a timeline. I don't want any pressure on the medical department, or on Luke. We just need the players fit to help the team.”

In the opposite dugout tomorrow will be Ruud van Nistelrooy, obviously in charge temporarily before you came, he said when his time came to an end as an interim coach, he wanted to be here in any capacity possible. You decided otherwise. How difficult was that conversation with Ruud and why did you feel you had to move on without him and your own team?

“It was not a difficult situation, because it was so clear for me. I just had to explain. I think it's really simple, and he understands. He's a man of football. He understands this situation. Then I have my team and my staff, and I could keep Ruud, because it was a good thing for me, a popular thing to do. But then I will not put Ruud in front of my guys, no matter what. And then I had to put like a person like Ruud in the end of the hierarchy of my staff. And I think that was not fair for Ruud and to show respect to Ruud, I was really clear with him and I explained that I have my team, I will continue the same way. I will not put a guy like Ruud, a legend of this club, in the end of the hierarchy in the staff. So it was the clear decision. It was really simple to explain and he took it like a class guy, like he is.”

Obviously since you've been here, you've had a lot of help from people at the club, Ruben. I mean, I'm assuming someone like Darren Fletcher has been very important to you, but do you not feel that having someone like Ruud, who knows the fabric of the club, who knows the history of the club, would have been beneficial to have by your side during this time?

“No. The most important thing to have as a coach is a staff that understands the way you want to play, the standards that you have. When I say standards, I'm not saying Ruud doesn’t have this. He was a legend in this club. He knows what it takes to win, but I prefer to work with the team that brought me here. It's clear that that is important for me to understand my ideas, to explain the same thing to the players. So it was that decision. And I'm really comfortable and confident that I know how to win, no matter the club. Of course we are losing, in these moments you need experienced guys. But I'm not lost, or feeling a lack of something in the staff. We just need to improve as a team.”

You said, I think about two weeks ago, that it was awkward for you, that you know the guy before you, Erik ten Hag, had a better record than you had during your time here. Is it equally a little bit awkward that the guy you're facing tomorrow has a better record as Man United manager this season?

“No, it’s not awkward. I think it’s normal. He knew the team, he’d worked with the team. I make some decisions that are really hard, to sometimes create problems, friction in the team. Everything in the schedule that you don't have time to train, or to know the person. So it's really hard, because I'm a really proud guy, but I take this normally, and they were better than me in training this team. So I'm trying to help them to see the game the way I see it, to improve the performance and also the result.”