Spectre of Jose Mourinho looms over Manchester United’s Louis van Gaal

Van Gaal acknowledged the pressure on him with United’s poor run but claimed he still retained the backing of his players.

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal will conduct his pre-match press conference as normal on Wednesday afternoon as pressure on his position intensifies.

Mourinho, recently sacked by Chelsea, has been linked with an immediate return to management with Man United if Louis van Gaal is let go. He was United’s caretaker manager for four games in 2014 and has been Van Gaal’s assistant since then.

But the former Netherlands global – who played under Van Gaal during his time at Barcelona – knows the manager must pick up points in matches against Stoke City, Chelsea and Swansea City to disprove his doubters.

Former United defender Phil Neville says the club are facing a “reality check” under Van Gaal this season, but believes the club should stick with the Dutchman.

The United link has further forced to spotlight on his former boss Van Gaal and Mendes’ words, where he did not deny an informal talk about the job, will do little to ease speculation. “Using the youth teams and restructuring completely”.

Mourinho was keen on taking the United job when Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, but the Scot chose David Moyes as his successor instead.

At any rate, it’s a safe bet that if Mourinho does take the reins at United there will be some significant roster turnover.

Noticeably, however, there has been no support for him behind the scenes, even in an off-the-record capacity, since it emerged that he was genuinely in danger of the sack approaching the games at Stoke City on Boxing Day and at home to Chelsea two days later.

They write: “Several media and journalists close to Portuguese Jose Mourinho say the technician has agreed a deal with Manchester United for the next five years, the news is not yet official”.

The links between José Mourinho and Manchester United are picking up in volume.

Pep Guardiola, in charge of Van Gaal’s old club Bayern Munich, will also become available in the summer after announcing he is leaving the German club.

“I said last week when Jose [Mourinho] lost his role that no-one is immune”.

United are already out of the Champions League, having failed to navigate their way out of arguably the easiest group in the competition.

Addressing fans in his weekly blog, the Spaniard wrote: “We are really disappointed for not giving you what you deserve, because your support is awesome and unconditional, but I’m sure that we will turn this situation around”.