Van Gaal unsure about Man Utd board support

Manchester United s under-performing players approach Monday s home game with Chelsea not knowing whether besieged manager Louis van Gaal will still be in the dug-out when they take to the field.

Chelsea dispensed with their own manager last week, Jose Mourinho paying the price for a calamitous start to the season, and the Portuguese is the favourite to take over at United in the event that Van Gaal departs. Now it is a matter of when and not if his is fired.

Van Gaal admitted there may have been a sea change in the board’s view of him in light of this latest defeat. Not at all. United failing doesn’t sell more papers or create extra clicks on a website.

United’s run has seen them knocked out of the Champions League and drop out of the top four. “I felt that it was a team lacking in confidence”, he said.

His depressing doctrine is no longer working, we can all see that.

“(He responded) like a very good professional”, Van Gaal said.

United hogged possession, but did little with it. There was no flair, no penetration nor a cutting edge about their play. “We need to do better, it’s as simple as that”, midfielder Michael Carrick said after the Stoke game. We created one or two chances and you have to score.

“I have analysed that as a effect of the pressure that you have to cope with as a group as an individual player”. He deserves credit for that at least.

Having criticised the media and stormed angrily out of his pre-match news conference on Wednesday (Thursday NZT), there was an air of resignation about Van Gaal’s comments after the loss – United’s fourth in a row in all competitions.

At the final whistle Van Gaal gave a brief wave to United’s travelling fans.

Goals from Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic condemned United to a fourth straight defeat and made it seven games without a win for Van Gaal’s men.

“I try to do everything but the pressure shall be every match higher and higher and we have to solve that problem”, said Van Gaal, who has been in charge since July 2014.

He added: “It’s more hard because I’m also part of the four matches (in succession) that we have lost”.

More rumour and debate about Van Gaal’s position will come in the next couple of days, particularly if United lose to Chelsea on Monday, but the embattled Dutchman has his iron shield up and is ready for what comes his way.