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Van Gaal: Manchester United are not Champions League contenders

After United were held to a goalless draw, their third in six Premier League matches, by West Ham at Old Trafford, van Gaal revealed his frustration at the chants from the stands.

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The game at Old Trafford against a West Ham side who had excelled away from home this season was not without merit and as manager Slaven Bilic pointed out: “This game deserved goals”.

Only victory against Wolfsburg will secure United’s place in the knockout stages, but Van Gaal does not rate his team’s chances of progress whatever the outcome in Germany.

“They want to score every minute of the game but it’s not possible”.

“If they don’t like my style of Manchester United, everyone knows all the teams of Louis van Gaal play like that”, he said in his postgame news conference. It is a very good organised team. I can not say we played bad.

“The team that had to score was Manchester United and not West Ham, but they also could have scored, we could have lost also, and this is the wonderful game of football”.

If United go out of the Uefa Champions League then Van Gaal will be left in no doubt about how fans feel, but he maintains absolute conviction in his philosophy.

Tellingly, just one of those 21 efforts on goal was actually on target and West Ham could well have snatched all three points, seeing two chances come back off the post and Victor Moses denied one-on-one by David de Gea early on.

Morgan Schneiderlin and Paddy McNair are doubts for United’s Champions League clash against Wolfsburg after coming off with injuries.

“We can be very pleased with the second half but you have to finish because that is football, you have to score goals”. My opinion about scoring goals is not only about composure but also a lot of luck. “It’s too long we don’t score otherwise we could have been first in the league”.

“You can say that United are different from before, especially at home where opponents are now defending with numbers behind the ball, very compact and very deeply”.

“It is a moment of madness, he deserved to be sent off. But the referee told me he didn’t see it, which is fair enough”.

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FC’s Craig Burley dissects a disappointing day for Manchester United in their goalless draw with West Ham.

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling midfielder Juan Mata and striker Anthony Martial walk off the pitch after the English Premier League football match against West Ham United at Old Trafford in Manchester. AFP