Van Gaal Wary Of Centre-back Shortage

Louis van Gaal has conceded he is short of defensive options after fielding Darren Fletcher in an unfamiliar role during the second half of a 7-0 hammering of LA Galaxy.

The Manchester United manager chose a 3-5-2 formation for the Chevrolet Cup fixture and started with Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones at the back. Youngsters Tyler Blackett and Michael Keane joined captain Fletcher after the break and preserved a clean sheet against the MLS side.

Following the departures of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand to Inter Milan and QPR respectively, the centre-back options at the club have been reduced.

"I have no more defenders," explained van Gaal to MUTV. "So I have to pick a player [Fletcher] who can do the job but he is not so suitable for this position."

The manager is pleased with the way the players are responding to his methods and felt Reece James can be particularly excited with his two-goal debut.

"I have had only three days with this group and they did well," he stated. "The first training session was not so good but the second session was much better already. So they are picking up and I was very proud of the boys.

"When you listen good, you can play good and he [James] is a young boy with a lot of talent. I hope he can perform in much more games like this."