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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“We were better in the second half but then we didn’t have anything to lose”.
In fact, should United fail to win on Monday, they will end the year with their lowest points total in 26 years.
MARK Hughes heaped enormous praise on his players after seeing them inflict a fourth straight defeat on Manchester United.
The downcast United manager is fighting for his job after another terrible 2-0 defeat against Stoke and said if he is unable to get a response at Old Trafford, he will jump before he is pushed.
“I am always very faithful [to the players], and I see also how they have trained”, he said.
“Everywhere he has gone during his career he has won trophies and if you speak to the majority of Manchester United fans, they just want to get back to the glory days where they are in the hunt for the major trophies”.
United’s slide has left Louis van Gaal’s position as manager under real doubt but the Dutchman says he could still decide to jump before he is pushed. What else can I say?
When asked if he would in-charge of Manchester United’s next game at Chelsea, he had said: “You will have to wait and see, but I think so”.
Van Gaal’s decision to leave Wayne Rooney on the bench did not pay off, with Stoke dictating play in the first half while United laboured to try to create chances.
“We have lost the game in the first 45 minutes because we didn’t dare to play our football”, said Van Gaal, whose side host Chelsea on Monday.
“The club doesn’t have to fire or sack me, sometimes I do it by myself”, added the former Netherlands, Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach.
And even though most of the the 2,557 United supporters who had made the trip down the M6 clapped the players off at the final whistle, Van Gaal did not seem to have much fight in him when he addressed the media shortly after.
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The Potters now have three marquee victories at home this season: Chelsea, Manchester City, and now Manchester United.
