However, it is never too early.
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The innocence and fearless attitude of younger players is what has drove United forward in recent weeks and we need to make sure we keep that same approach going into a huge month of fixtures in March.
Bookmakers completely on the side of Manchester United, which is quite true.
The 18-year-old Manchester United striker has burst on to the scene, scoring twice on his debut in the Europa League win over FC Midtjylland before bagging a double in United’s 3-2 win victory against Arsenal on Sunday.
Fosu-Mensah and Blind were detailed to mark the muscular strike duo of Ighalo and Troy Deeney, and Van Gaal was particularly pleased how they coped. The 24-year-old isn’t a youngster by any means but getting scouts to watch you for a few games does show that he does have the ability to play well, hopefully he can translate the interest into a trial or even better, a deal with a top tier club.
United have won four games on the bounce and the Dutchman said: “I have read that Rashford is saving me”.
“I don’t think it was an ugly win because the free-kick was a fantastic shot from Mata”, van Gaal said.
“Jonny is a big loss for every team”, Van Gaal told MUTV.
Rashford became the first player in the Red Devils history to score two goals in their opening two games. I thought the quality in the game was bad and they happened to be the better team on the day. If there was a young lad doing well in the reserves and he was a left-back, and the left-back was injured, then he would come in.
Midfielder Marouane Fellaini and full-back Antonio Valencia are back in full training after injury, with Phil Jones and Bastian Schweinsteiger likely to join them next week.
The Norwegian plays mostly as a right-back, a position that Manchester United have needed to take care off for a long time. As well as fourth place in the league, Van Gaal also wants to bring a first piece of silverware to Old Trafford since the 2013 league title won by Alex Ferguson in his last season, and he says the confidence of his team is growing.
VIDEO: This is how boring United’s football has been at times this season…
At one point both managers were being heavily criticised for an unadventurous style of play, but now both are enjoying an upturn in results and performances.
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West Brom head coach Tony Pulis has suffered a similar tone of criticism to Van Gaal this season, albeit in his lower profile job, with supporters objecting to a perceived negative approach.
