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Van Gaal defends tactics, says United still ‘ahead’ of Spurs

Manchester United suffered a major blow to their Champions League title hopes on Sunday, with their 3-0 loss to Tottenham highlighting the gulf between the inspirational Spurs and the declining power that the Red Devils have become.

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Louis van Gaal says he does not regret turning down Tottenham in the summer of 2014, saying Manchester United “are a bigger club”.

Speaking prior to United’s 3-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, Martial thanked United’s “fantastic” supporters.

Manchester United have struggled for goals this season, so the move for an established experienced striker would be a sensible move. The challenge is always bigger in a bigger club.

United face West Ham in a FA Cup replay on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s League encounter against struggling Aston Villa.

The 26-year-old Spaniard said: “We realise how important it is for us as players and for our fans to get a trophy”. “I hope that we improve our communication because this is a very important game for us”.

In his 2011 autobiography, I am Zlatan, the Sweden worldwide alluded to the strained relationship between the pair when he played under Ronald Koeman at Ajax and van Gaal was at the club as technical director.

United pressed the home side well and had a few chances of their own, but things went awry when their best player on the night, teenager Timothy Fosu-Mensah had to be substituted on 67 minutes due to an injury.

He told Sky Sports: “No [I’m not giving up hope], every team can lose from everybody, so still we are in the race”.

United’s preparations were far from ideal as their team coach was stuck in traffic and arrived over an hour late, meaning kick-off had to be delayed half an hour.

“It was a big chance, with a big space and a big time for him, but we gave the goal away with miscommunication and then you know what happened next”.

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Manager Louis van Gaal confirmed the all-time England leading goalscorer will play 60 minutes with the under-21 team on Monday against Middlesbrough.

Tottenham Hotspur's head coach Mauricio Pochettino center watches