Van Gaal: Be Patient With Martial

Louis van Gaal has urged supporters to be patient with Anthony Martial, although the Manchester United manager admits he is delighted by his new signing’s free-scoring form.

Martial joined the Reds from Monaco on transfer deadline day and quickly announced himself to the world by scoring on his debut in the 3-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford. The Frenchman followed that up with an accomplished performance at PSV Eindhoven in midweek, before netting two goals that shaped Sunday’s entertaining 3-2 win at Southampton in the Barclays Premier League.

Followers of United’s official Twitter account, @ManUtd, voted Martial their Man of the Match at St Mary’s and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville also highlighted the 19-year-old as his star man.

Van Gaal was quick to praise his new no.9 during the post-match press conference and revealed how he communicates with the talented youngster. “He cannot speak English, so I have to speak French with him and I need help with that from Fellaini and Schneiderlin,” the manager told reporters. “It is very difficult but he is willing to learn English so it is a matter of time, I think.

“When he speaks English well enough, he shall answer the questions himself. But first he has to learn English and adapt to the English culture. I have to say that he is doing great. He's played three matches in a row and scored three goals. It is one for one, so that is not bad.

Asked if United are getting more from Martial than expected at this stage of his career, van Gaal replied: “He has the talent for it, that I have said, but when you are 19 years old you cannot expect consistency. Mostly, he shall have a lot of dips so that I expect also from him.

“But that is not a big problem for me. I am very happy with what he gave in three matches and the talent at a high level. And he has adapted to the system that we want, which is also important.

"Not every player can adapt to the system but he shows that he wants to do that and it is not so easy.”