After Marcos Rojo dislocated his shoulder in training on Wednesday, United were rocked by the news of Wayne Rooney picking up a “nasty” ankle injury, that could see club captain miss their crucial Champions League tie with Wolfsburg in midweek.
Advertisement
“I’m happy that when I’m gone, people are saying nice things about me”, he said.
United maintain they are in the market for the world’s best managers, but will not be acting any time soon to set up a replacement for Van Gaal.
“I don’t think there is a coach that quits by himself because of the money, but I am like that”.
But Van Gaal hopes that a quiet midweek after next Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth will help him get some players back to full fitness.
“They’re not conceding goals and somebody said they are boring, but they are not a team that is giving you the ball and defending”.
That would be a big blow to the Dutchman’s credibility and, while van Gaal insists he has a good relationship with his players at present, he made it clear he would have no qualms about quitting if the situation soured.
Against Leicester City, van Gaal fielded a back-three with Rojo missing from the side and it allowed Paddy McNair to fill in as a third centre-back.
The Hammers appear to have slowed down a bit, but they do have some very good players who will be keen on taking centre-stage at Old Trafford.
In a Premier League season billed as poor in terms of quality this term, there’s no getting away from the fact that if United had a lethal finisher up top, they’d probably be sitting at number one right now.
“My opinion about scoring goals is not only composure but also a lot of luck so I am not so anxious but we have to pass over this period because it is too long that we don’t score otherwise we would be first in the league”. “I don’t understand that they shout “attack, attack” because we are the dominating team and not West Ham”.
Advertisement
“They are different from the Sir Alex Ferguson era when – especially at home – they were more electric, they were quicker, playing around the box and in the box”. “That is the most important aspect of football and we didn’t do it”.
