Van Gaal: United fans have to be happy

It’s not so easy to do that.

“Van Nistelrooy is like Vardy”.

“He is highly concentrated to make goals and is always running in behind, so you can compare them”.

“I keep saying it’s boring, I know, but he has sorted the defence out”.

United captain Rooney is well aware of the threat posed by Vardy after linking up with the prolific 28-year-old on England duty and he wants his team-mates to start showing the kind of composure and predatory instincts displayed by the Leicester star.

“And in the second half we didn’t show enough composure on the ball, they changed their system and made it hard for us and we failed to adapt to that”.

Van Gaal’s perceived style of play, lacking tempo and a creative edge, has come in for criticism from supporters and pundits.

Meanwhile, Leicester’s squad will prepare for the clash buoyed by images of their unbelievable 5-3 over United from last season.

Asked if Rooney is worthy of his place on merit, Van Gaal added: “Yes, of course”.

Wednesday’s 0-0 draw against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League – which laves United requiring a win in Wolfsburg next month to be certain of qualifying for the knock-out stages – was the team’s fourth goalless draw in their last seven outings. “You are playing for the fans, so you can not deny that”. One concern that Spurs backers might have is that they have played on Thursday in Azerbaijan (7 hour flight from London) so we may see some jet lag from players after enduring a long round trip mid-week.

“If we weren’t creating chances I’d be anxious, but we are and we don’t give too much away – normally our results are good”.

The United manager, who has won league titles in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, said the spending power of Premier League clubs meant there was a less of a quality gap between the elite teams and their pursuers. Van Gaal insists the academy graduate still has a future at the club.

“At this moment, he doesn’t play in the striker’s position, Martial is playing there”, Van Gaal said.

“More and more players are dropping out of the system early”. “Going out to Germany is always tough, but we have to believe in ourselves and have the confidence in ourselves”. “We have to win and that is the aim and that is what we need to do”.

But United’s approach is not typical of Louis van Gaal’s sides from the past, such as the great Ajax team of the 1990s who swept all before them with a brand of football that was seen as light years ahead of the game. Leicester City are a good side and I think they have what it takes to win here. So as a manager, I am very satisfied with him.