Louis van Gaal says struggling opponents’ strategy of “parking the bus” is the reason behind Manchester United’s poor record against weaker sides.
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The England global has been sidelined since 13 February after he suffered knee ligament damage which forced the 30-year-old United captain to miss their last 11 games in all competitions.
Barring a set-back, Rooney is likely to return against West Ham United in the FA Cup quarter-final replay at Upton Park on Wednesday or at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League three days later.
It’s a method the Dutchman has employed regularly with injured players throughout his time at the club, with Phil Jones and Ashley Young the most recent senior names to drop down into the younger age group this week.
Tottenham are battling for the league title and Van Gaal was full of praise for the work that Mauricio Pochettino has done during his press conference. “I think you can give credit to Mauricio Pochettino”.
Rooney this week took part in two training sessions as he stepped up his rehabilitation, although Louis van Gaal will not risk him at title-chasing Spurs on Sunday.
“There was a time that I could not select only the fit players”.
“It is very hard because the pressure is also for Tottenham Hotspur now because they have to close the gap on Leicester City”.
“It’s interesting for the players that they have to win this game at this moment”. Also more fast players, quick thinking players. United are less successful against the lower-placed teams and Van Gaal offered an explanation. I think it is easier to do that, everyone accepts that of Leicester, but they do it in a fantastic way.
“That makes things more hard as the top teams want to play against us which means that we can play which makes a big difference”.
“They also have a lot of clean sheets which shows they are a well-organised and structured team”. “I analyse it that way”.
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Speculation has been rife about the United manager’s position and this week reports suggested he had rejected an offer to become the Dutch Football Association’s new technical director.
