Blomqvist Admires Louis van Gaal's Conviction

Former Manchester United winger Jesper Blomqvist has been impressed by the strength of manager Louis van Gaal's convictions.

The Dutch boss stuck to his tried and tested methods and his established philosophy despite a difficult start to his reign at Old Trafford, before steering the Reds to a top-four spot in the Barclays Premier League.

"He has that charisma and also that experience to handle the big setbacks," explained Blomqvist to ManUtd.com. "He knows what to do and he has trust in his own philosophy. He knows that it works if he does the right moves because he's done it so many times in the past.

"You have to give him credit as, at one stage, things were looking quite tough and it can be easy to get frustrated and start changing things and looking for other solutions. He stuck to his methods and was quite sure about them. Now he can stand up there on a podium and say: 'What did I tell you?'"

Blomqvist, who is competing in the Legends match against Bayern Munich All-Stars on 14 June, is under no illusions about how difficult a job management at the top level must be. "I've had a few world-class coaches such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti and Fabio Capello," he added. "They are all really big managers who found their own philosophy with a mix between their own personalities.

"You have to be true to yourself and must remember all of them have had hard times as well. Sometimes you have to work yourself up from the very bottom because it really is one of the toughest jobs in the world to be a football manager."