Van Gaal’s days at Old Trafford appear numbered after United slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat with a 2-0 loss at Stoke City on Boxing Day, stretching their winless run to seven matches.
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The England striker has endured a frustrating season in a team that has failed to play with any of the attacking brio that brought United 13 Premier League titles under manager Alex Ferguson.
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Van Gaal pointed to the terrible back header by Memphis Depay that gift-wrapped Stoke’s first goal for Bojan Krkic in the 19th minute as the main reason for United’s latest defeat.
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But asked whether he still has enough support from the players to turn things around, he replied: “Until now, I can say yes”. That is the problem now.
“I am also part of the four matches we have lost so people are looking at me and I have to deal with that but much more important is that the players have to deal with that because they have to perform”.
With Manchester United already eliminated from the Champions League and in the midst of a three-game losing streak in the Premier League and four-game losing skid overall, De Gaal could be fired in the coming hours, English media reported.
Mark Hughes had nothing but praise for Stoke City in their win over Manchester United.
“My thoughts are that we didn’t dare to play football in the first half and then we gave a very bad goal away. In football, it generally comes down to the manager and it’s much easier to get rid of the manager than 11 players”.
That Mourinho has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford adds another intriguing sub-plot to the game and the United players know they must step up.
“No because I can also quit by myself”.
“When you lose in a top team then it is always more hard to cope with your environment and you can not say that it is in Manchester much more different”.
“It was another tremendous performance from us, and at key times a very professional one, I would suggest”, he said.
Van Gaal’s grim post-match press conference was evidence to the fact that he was under intense pressure to hold on to his job at the club. “Again we had many chances like in the last games and this time we scored two and didn’t concede one so we won and we’re very happy about that”.
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But if United slip to another defeat, van Gaal is expected to leave of his own accord, after becoming disillusioned with his own players, and the pressure and criticism from the British press.
