Martial: I Laugh When Van Gaal Yells

Manchester United forward Anthony Martial admits he regularly feels the wrath of Louis van Gaal in training but says he has learned to laugh off the Dutchman’s anger.

Martial has enjoyed a successful debut season at Old Trafford since the Red Devils made him the most expensive teenager in football history when buying him from Monaco at the end of the summer transfer window.

The Frenchman, who turned 20 in December, has shouldered a lot of responsibility this season and has quickly developed into one of the club's most important players.

With 12 goals already, Martial has quickly ingratiated himself with United's supporters but admits he receives no special treatment from his manager.

"If I misplace a pass or I take a poor touch, he [Van Gaal] is the first I hear who is screaming at me," Martial revealed in an interview with French outlet RTL.

"It makes me laugh because I know it is for my own good. He wants me to be a perfectionist and I think it is like that that I will progress.

"He has allowed me to progress enormously, he has also given me an enormous amount of confidence and I think it is thanks to this that I have succeeded with my start at Manchester United.

"He is a very good coach. In his nature he seems cold on the exterior but he is a very good coach. He is nice - when we win, he is happy."

United currently lie sixth in the table, level on points with fifth-placed West Ham and one behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

A top-four finish appeared remote for United a month ago but City's dip in form has offered them hope.

With Wayne Rooney out with a knee injury, Van Gaal has been forced rely on 18-year-old Marcus Rashford to lead United's attack with Martial and 23-year-old Jesse Lingard offering support from the wings.

Martial has been impressed with the play of Rashford and Lingard and he hopes between the three of them, they can score the goals needed for United to finish their season on a high.

"Honestly they are two very good young players and they have helped us enormously this season and I hope that they will continue like that so that we can finish fourth or third in the league," Martial said.

The emergence of Rashford has seen Martial forced to play on the left to accommodate him. Although the Frenchman readily admits his preferred role is up front, he says he is happy to play wherever benefits the team the most and insists he is not jealous of Rashford's success.

"No not at all, I am very happy for him. He is scoring goals and that is the most important thing," Martial said.

"I prefer to play up front, but if the coach puts me on the wing then that means it is better for the team and for me that is the most important thing.

"I am working very hard every day in training [to become a better finisher] and it is true that sometimes when I play as the number nine, I have not scored but it is like that.

"With time, I will progress even more and I will be more mature to score even more goals."

Paris Saint-Germain have been linked with a move for Martial this summer as a replacement for the outgoing Zlatan Ibrahimovic but Martial insists all he is concentrating on is helping Manchester United get back to the top.

When asked if the move interested him, he said: "They [Manchester United] are not at the top at the moment, but I hope that next year they will be."

Credit: Skysports.com