The Argentinian defender is yet to play for Man United’s senior team as he was late back to pre-season training and is subsequently a few weeks behind the other players with his fitness levels.
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That can in part be explained by his plan for Fellaini, which was revealed on the eve of the second leg of United’s Champions League play-off against Club Brugge.
Van Gaal is confident that he has the right mix of players to lodge a challenge and eventually win the tournament after an eight-year hiatus for the three-time winners.
Sitting alongside his manager, Fellaini welcomed the opportunity to take up a role up front if needed.
He added: “In the past I have played No. 9 and No.10. Maybe you can tell me the last team to beat Manchester United from two goals down?”
While they may be struggling offensively, Van Gaal has no concerns about his defence at the moment.
“It’s not important where I play, the most important thing is to win the game“.
“They are all in the squad and sometimes they shall play more matches”.
How he gets on remains to be seen, but if given the game time, it’s hard to see him not chalking up more goals than a certain Mr. Falcao did last season.
“I know my team-mates, the manager and the philosophy of the manager, so I’m just looking to do well and score some goals”.
“I think it’s always important to make a mix of youth players and older players”.
United are unbeaten in their opening four games of the new season although scoring goals has proved problematic, with Van Gaal’s side only managing two in the Premier League thus far.
United hold a 3-1 aggregate lead heading into their second leg clash with Brugge on Wednesday but van Gaal is still wary of the threat posed by the Belgians. “They have beaten Greek opponents 3-0, they are capable of doing that with the support of their fans”.
“Everyone knows my first season was hard, but now it’s in the past”.
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He added: “Yes, I believe in that. It’s been our aim for more than a year to be in the Champions League and still we are not yet participating”, he remarked.
