I could quit Man Utd, says embattled Van Gaal

Goals from Stoke forwards Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic punished United for a awful start at a blustery Britannia Stadium and although the visitors improved in the second half they could not fix the damage.

Van Gaal, who hit out at the media in midweek over reports he would be sacked, told reporters after the match that he could consider walking away.

“I don’t have to say whether I am considering resigning but, I have said before, it’s not always that the club has to sack me”.

“I can also quit by myself”, Van Gaal said when asked if he had received assurances about his future from the club hierarchy.

“I try to do everything to help them but the pressure is higher and higher in every match and we have to solve that problem”.

However, he refused to take the blame for his players’ struggles when the heat is on, saying: “Of course I do my utmost to find solutions to cope with the pressure”. When you are on a bad run, it’s tough, it’s hard to take.

And when Van Gaal was asked whether he expected to remain in charge for the Chelsea match, his response was hardly emphatic.

The Dutchman watched Stoke City swat aside his timid team 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

Crystal Palace drew 0-0 with Bournemouth, moving above Manchester United into fifth spot. Last season he led the club to the Premier League and the League Cup titles. It’s another situation because we have lost the fourth job in a row.

He put that down to his players’ fear of failure and conceded that United must somehow find the courage to overcome that if they are to arrest their slide. “Second half we were in a losing position and we can give everything more easily and that we have done but then you have to score the first chance”.

After a quiet start to the half, Stoke broke the deadlock in the 19th minute as Glen Johnson pounced on a poor back pass from Memphis Depay to tee up Bojan for the simple tap-in.

Dutch manager Van Gaal has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks with many people believing it is just a matter of time before the axe swings down on him. “We will all go home in very good spirits tonight and looking forward to the game against Everton on Monday”.