Will Power

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Van Gaal Praises United Fans

Louis van Gaal was hugely impressed by the way Manchester United’s fans responded to the opening-day defeat to Swansea.

The Reds went down 2-1 to the Swans at Old Trafford last weekend but the 75,000 inside the stadium continued to show their support for the team and van Gaal.

The boss nevertheless knows the reversal was disappointing and he wants United to get off and running as soon as possible, starting with Sunday’s trip to Sunderland.

"What I have always expected in every country – in the Netherlands and also Spain and Germany – is that when you lose, you are not so popular," van Gaal said.

"But in spite of our loss, they applauded and that is fantastic to experience as a manager. They want to show their belief and I like that very much, as you can imagine.

"It was an unbelievable experience but I also know we have to win, for sure."

Van Gaal’s new system continues to dominate discussion among fans and the media. The manager insists his United players are most suited to a 3-5-2 formation, even if it’s unusual in the Barclays Premier League.

"The quality of the players is much more important [than the formation], so they can show their qualities in a system," he said.

"That is why we are playing this system. It fits in more players than when I play 4-3-3. When I play 4-3-3, I have to choose between Rooney and van Persie, for example.

"I am a fan of 4-3-3 because it is beneficial for pressing and for the positional game, but for these players I think we have to do that in another system."

Robin van Persie could feature on Sunday and van Gaal believes the striker will feel the long-term benefits of having had a full break following his World Cup exertions.

The manager said: "I gave him three weeks’ rest and I also let him train for three weeks, so that he is more prepared than the players I had in the United States.

"Within one week [of returning to training], they had to play 45 minutes and you have seen all the injuries. I am a manager who always thinks in the long-term, so I have not taken any risk with van Persie."

Van Gaal reiterated his assertion that it will take time for his United players fully to adapt to his philosophy, even if he has already praised their flexibility.

"My experience at my former clubs is that the start is always difficult," he said. "This is because I know I give a lot of information. I know I load the brain a lot and the players have to adapt to that.

"That is not so easy. Maybe you can say we should have a little less information, but that is not possible because we have to change the way of playing football and the way of transferring my message.

"That is not only in the team meetings but also on the pitch every day, and when I give an exercise it’s always with a tactical purpose so they have to think a lot."

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