Having failed to make it out of the group stage – and subsequently consign themselves to Thursday night football in the Europa League – former United stars Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Michael Owen all criticised Van Gaal and his side.
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The United manager admitted his players were struggling to deal with the expectations on their shoulders, however.
“I am working very hard to do what we can do”, said Van Gaal, 64.
After Manchester United’s elimination from the Champions League, manager Louis van Gaal said that “facts” prove United were better than a year ago.
United’s Premier League form has been mixed, but they sit just three points off the top and remain well-placed to launch a title challenge in the second half of the season.
“Just? You think it’s ‘just?’ I’m not thinking like that”, he said sharply.
Through a combination of injuries and suspensions, the United squad is severely depleted in what is an important game for the club as they look to bounce back from their disappointment in the Champions League in midweek.
With concerns in England that the Premier League might lose one of their four spots in the Champions League as a result of underachieving performances in Europe, the Europa League – that much-maligned competition that damns clubs to the purgatory of Thursday-Sunday fixtures – might be a blessing in disguise.
“I played a lot of games when I was at Southend and it was a great learning curve for me at that time”, said the defender. Past year I was good enough to get Holland to third at the World Cup, that kind of stuff. To beat them shall be very hard. However, Bournemouth’s high level of fitness and their skill going forward, as well as the confidence gained from the Everton (3-3) and Chelsea (1-0) games will give them the belief needed to win the game. You can see what is happening in the Premier League every week. In turn, that suggests that the Europa League will be lowest priority for United.
Van Gaal would not comment on speculation linking Ryan Giggs with the Swansea job, saying: “First I have to speak to Ryan Giggs by himself if it’s true”. That’s the past. You have to analyse the club now. The resentment from United towards Manchester City over their aggressive recruiting methods has found its way to the national press this season.
Nowadays, the Red Devils play tedious football and seem happy to settle for slender one-goal leads, partly due to Louis van Gaal’s stubbornness and refusal to budge from his untainted philosophy.
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The ruling was made after a close scrutiny of a video footage from United’s last weekend match against West Ham where Schweinsteiger was seen catching West Ham’s Winston Reid with his left arm during a free kick.
