According to those in the know, Louis Van Gaal was given the ultimate backing this weekend with confirmation that Man United would not be approaching Pep Guardiola to become the club's next manager. The powers that be in Old Trafford were happy with the stabilisation of the club under Van Gaal and were giving him their full support.
Whether Europa League football has changed that is, as yet, unclear but it certainly doesn't seem that Van Gaal's job is under threat. And perhaps it shouldn't be but the dissent from Man United fans in the aftermath of last night's defeat to Wolfsburg is clear. The money spent by Van Gaal in relation to that spent by David Moyes has been a particular bugbear.
The belief that Van Gaal is the wrong man for the job has been steadily growing given the nature of the performances this season and his comments after last night's defeat will do little to ease fans' fears. He began in typically honest fashion.
At the moment I can’t defend myself because we’re out of the Champions League and every word I say is the wrong one.
He then proceeded to say the wrong ones.
But when I see the facts, we got further in the Capital One Cup and qualified for the Champions League group. We’re still in a good position in the Premier League, so the facts are saying we’re better than last year.
That’s my answer because I can only give facts.
Van Gaal went on to say that he was 'disappointed' to be out of the Champions League and when asked if when Man United would be ready to challenge the top clubs again, Van Gaal was not about to sugarcoat the fact that it's not going to happen anytime soon.
It’s a matter of time because this year it can’t be. I’ve said that to the players.
The suggestion of progress will be enough to have Van Gaal's critics tearing their hair out. We quite like Simon Delaney's take on things.
Grab a brolly folks, it's raining bullshit. -- LVG claims United progresshttps://t.co/6FLQ2zAEQ3
— Simon Delaney (@SimonDelaneyEsq) December 9, 2015
There may be progress in terms of the league position but that's as a result of other team's lethargy as opposed to anything Van Gaal's side are doing correctly.
The football on show has been resoundingly criticised and the response from the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes went some way to summing up the growing anger among the United faithful. Van Gaal may be backed by those above him but last night's display went some way to ensuring he's losing the fans' support and when that happens, it takes an awful lot to turn things around.
