Chris Smalling is urging Manchester United to learn from Saturday’s defeat to Southampton.
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Having won by the same scoreline in last season’s corresponding fixture, Koeman’s men were jubilant once more after debutant Charlie Austin came off the bench to head an 87th-minute victor.
It was United’s sixth Premier League defeat of the season and turns the focus once again on Van Gaal after his team were left 10 points behind new leaders Leicester.
The record 20-time English champions went an 11th home game in a row without scoring in the first half and then conceded after the break when Charlie Austin netted on his Southampton debut.
Asked whether the Old Trafford fans were right to boo, he added: “They are right, I can not deny that”. We are working hard but we have a lot of injuries that you can not change.
The Independent claimed that former Chelsea manager Mourinho sent United a six-page letter in which he outlined why he would be a suitable fit for the position, which is now occupied by under-pressure Dutchman Louis van Gaal. “Every change was a weakness in defence”, said Van Gaal.
Chances were limited in the game with Jesse Lingard’s deflected effort and Adnan Januzaj’s late strike both going wide. It was a poor game; we didn’t create so much and our opponent didn’t create so much. Van Gaal was jeered at as he walked down the tunnel. It’s been a season which overflows with defensive resilience but has got buckets of attacking incapabilities too, piling up the negative aura around Louis van Gaal’s presence at the club.
I can only say what I have seen.
He was taken off the pitch whilst spitting blood, and is now in the hospital, as revealed by the official Manchester United Twitter account. “I believe in the corrections of fellow players – I think that is more important than the correction of a manager”. “That is my job and not an easy job at the moment”.
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United are now five points adrift of a top-four place in the Premier League and their dejected players trudged off with boos ringing in their ears at full-time.
