Van Gaal defiant as United seals fifth place
Print Edition
MANCHESTER United manager Louis van Gaal blamed injuries and unrealistic expectations for his team’s disappointing season after a 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday confirmed a 5th-place finish in the Premier League.
United is guaranteed a spot in next season’s Europa League four days before it plays Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final but Dutchman Van Gaal’s future is still the subject of intense speculation after two years in charge at Old Trafford.
“The issue is the amount of injuries in November and December, particularly in the two fullback positions,” Van Gaal told reporters. “We need creative, fast attackers and we have to take care of that. When everybody was fit we were first in the league. That is the fact.”
There were a number of empty seats at Old Trafford for the last home game of the season, rescheduled from Sunday after that game was abandoned because of a bomb scare, and a few banners suggesting the club’s supporters would be happy to see Van Gaal leave.
“The expectation is very high. Too high. We are a team in transition,” Van Gaal said. “I have tried to explain that.
“We didn’t reach our aim. We have to qualify for the Champions League. We’ve still the FA Cup final to go. Everyone has to make up his mind at how we’ve done this season at that time.”
Van Gaal was at least happy with his team’s performance against Bournemouth.
“It was a very good victory, we have created many, many chances in the second half and we played very well,” he said.
“We scored brilliant goals,” he added, referring to a well-worked effort by Wayne Rooney and another cool finish by 18-year-old striker Marcus Rashford.
United, however, scored only 49 league goals all season, its lowest return since 1989-90.
After winning 13 league titles under manager Alex Ferguson with attack-minded teams which scored goals for fun, that simple statistic alone should make Van Gaal worry for his future at the Theater of Dreams.
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