Louis van Gaal admitted Manchester United’s fans were right to boo him during Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Southampton in the first sign of open revolt since the Dutchman arrived as manager at Old Trafford but refused to say whether he fears for his job. Charlie Austin’s 87th-minute header on his debut for the visitors consigned United to a first defeat in six games.
It widened the gap to Tottenham Hotspur in fourth place to five points after the London club’s 3-1 win at Crystal Palace. It also posed questions about Van Gaal’s position. “I cannot answer. It is not for me to answer these kinds of questions,” said Van Gaal.
Supporters jeered the side during another insipid United display. At the final whistle they booed Van Gaal loudly as he walked to the tunnel. “You cannot say that they [fans] are not right,” he said.
“They are right and of course they are disappointed and they have the right to boo me. You know it was not good today. It was a poor game and we could not create chances and our opponent also had a few chances. So it’s more or less a 0-0 game. But at the end we have lost.”
Asked if this was the poorest display of a tenure that began in summer 2014, Van Gaal said: “I don’t know but it was a poor performance because football is not only defending but also creating chances and we didn’t create any chances. Our opponent denied that so it was a poor game for the fans. I can imagine that.I am disappointed but I have to think and already I put the question how I can change this because we have to change this. That is my job and it is not an easy job at the moment. Nevertheless we have won three times in 2016 and a draw so very good results in January – but we could not show it in this game. I did not see that confidence today.”
Van Gaal does not believe the transfer window can change things. “One player cannot change everything. Sometimes it looks like it but it is always the process of team-building what makes a team stronger but sometimes one individual can give the first stimulus for that process but it is not so easy as you say or ask.”
Matteo Darmian became the latest defender to be ruled out when suffering a suspected injured rib in the second half. Van Gaal said: “He was spitting blood on the pitch so he has already gone to the hospital and we have to wait and see what happens. That is the fifth full-back who has been injured so that is what I have to do also to make solutions to solve the problems. Probably one rib and also the chest is something wrong but we have to wait and see.”
