Asked about that disgruntlement and whether he felt the supporters were still with him, Van Gaal said: “It’s always like that when you lose”. It is still questionable whether Smalling, Rooney, and Herrera will be in the lineup; however, each of them participated in “full” training during the week. On the possibility of any disciplinary action, Neil said: “We will have to wait to see what the investigation brings”. In that time, United have been dumped out of the Champions League and have lost ground on leaders Leicester City in the league.
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And while questioning what he could lose at this stage of his career, Van Gaal did say: “If I lose the confidence of the fans, that for me would be very sad”.
Memphis may also start, but Van Gaal is likely to recall Wayne Rooney, shunt Anthony Martial out wide, and bring Ander Herrera into the starting line up.
“Unfortunately this is how football is, but there is no disputing that Jose is one of the best managers in football”, the former England midfielder said.
“It was a big surprise for me, I didn’t expect that”.
“He’s a fantastic manager with a record that nobody has in this football world but it is still possible [to be sacked]”, Van Gaal said. Champions Chelsea, in stark contrast, lie 16th having sacked Jose Mourinho’s this week.
Alex Neil’s side have won just once in their past ten games, and slipped into the bottom three last weekend despite a decent point earned at home to Everton.
“We know that the month of December is always a tough one with a lot of fixtures and the tiredness can build up, so we need to come out of it at the end with a few good results”, said David de Gea. “This is the world”. Still, the recent defensive lapses might convince Van Gaal he needs to play with two holding midfielders – a move that didn’t endear him to the fans when he tried it against Newcastle, Sunderland and West Brom. I’ve seen articles that’s it’s not like that. “I think [protecting] my honour is much more of a pressure for me than the pressure of the media and the fans”.
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Four of the last six matches at this stadium have resulted in goalless draws, and you can get odds of 10/3 (4.33) on them teams cancelling each other out on this occasion. That’s the only thing that counts now, I think everyone in the dressing room and all of the staff know that.
