Hughes: Stoke should have beaten Man Utd by more

The pressure was already piling on the Dutchman prior to United’s trip to the Britannia Stadium and he showed it by storming out of his Wednesday press conference.

Louis van Gaal has hinted that he may resign before being sacked as Manchester United manager, as reported by The Independent. I am here only because of the Premier League rules.

54 years. The last time United lost four consecutive games, John F Kennedy was president of the United States, the Beatles were yet to release an album, and José Mourinho was not born. “Sometimes I do that by myself”, the Dutch head coach said after Saturday’s loss. “People are looking at me and I have to deal with that, but much more important is that the players have to deal with that because they have to perform”.

After dominating the first 45 minutes, United forced Stoke to defend resolutely in the second half, although they did threaten on the break.

Van Gaal must decide whether to restore Wayne Rooney to his starting line-up, while midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is back from suspension and defender Matteo Darmian has a chance of making his return from a hamstring injury.

Manchester United starlet Andreas Pereira says the squad will stick together and not blame Louis van Gaal for their problems.

“I can also quit by myself, but that is something that I speak with Ed Woodward by himself, and not with you”, Van Gaal said in his post-match press conference.

“I have said to my players at half-time that we had nothing to lose and then you can cope better with that and you have seen that in the second half, but it was not good enough”.

Asked what the trio had told him, Van Gaal responded: “I don’t say it to you because it is not any of your business”. “We have lost the fourth game, so you have to wait and see”.

Rumours continue to swirl about the Dutchman’s future, with the Boxing Day defeat to Stoke City just the latest in a sequence of disappointing results for the Red Devils. “Do you think that I want to talk with the media now?”

The former England striker said: “Van Gaal chose to take on the media this week and he picked a team he thought would scrap for him and that was the best they could do for him – that was embarrassing”.

Who is out for Manchester United for the crunch clash against Chelsea?