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| Van Gaal claims Wayne Rooney could score 25-30 goal this season if he plays as a striker |
And he has backed Wayne Rooney to live up to his pre-season vow that providing he is played as a striker and not moved around the team he can score 25 to 30 goals this season.
United won only six times and scored just 21 times in 19 matches on the road last season - their worst away record for wins and goals in the Premier League era. And it was directly linked to Rooney managing to score only one League away goal all season.
Van Gaal had to wait until the visit to Arsenal on November 22 - their sixth away game - before chalking up an away win and, significantly, it was at the Emirates where Rooney scored his only away goal.
But United and Rooney could not be going to a happier hunting ground tonight (Fri) to put an end to their travel sickness.
And he has backed Wayne Rooney to live up to his pre-season vow that providing he is played as a striker and not moved around the team he can score 25 to 30 goals this season.
United won only six times and scored just 21 times in 19 matches on the road last season - their worst away record for wins and goals in the Premier League era. And it was directly linked to Rooney managing to score only one League away goal all season.
Van Gaal had to wait until the visit to Arsenal on November 22 - their sixth away game - before chalking up an away win and, significantly, it was at the Emirates where Rooney scored his only away goal.
But United and Rooney could not be going to a happier hunting ground tonight (Fri) to put an end to their travel sickness.
The last time they lost a League game at Villa Park was 20 years ago when a side including then unproven youngsters Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, the Neville brothers and David Beckham - as a half-time sub - lost 3-1, prompting Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen's infamous "you'll win nothing with kids" remark.
Van Gaal however is more concerned about the present rather than United's historical love of Aston Villa's home turf.
"The key for success this season is improving our away results," he said. "We had the third best home record last season. I wanted to create a fortress at Old Trafford and we did that but we have to improve away and we can improve because last year we were not good."
Rooney's last Premier League goal came against Villa at Old Trafford on April 4 during a season when he managed only 14 goals in all competitions, his lowest total in his 11 seasons with United, although Van Gaal's frequent use of him in midfield was a big factor in his reduced tally.
With Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie jettisoned during the summer, there are concerns whether United have enough firepower for a title challenge, although Pedro's imminent arrival from Barcelona is designed to improve their output.
For the moment, though, Van Gaal is banking not just on Rooney but other players to step up to the scoring plate.
"It is not only dependable on the strikers," he said. "It is dependable on the team, and the team balance. People are only looking at the striker's position for scoring goals but it is not like that. A lot of players have to score and shall score also.
"Our aim is to play with Rooney in the striker's position with Chicharito [Javier Hernandez] as the second choice. But he can also play [as the main striker] because Rooney can also play No10. So he has a chance to play in the striker's position but normally Rooney shall play because we have confidence that he can score more than 20 goals there. That is more than any of the striker's scored last season."
Former United captain Bryan Robson believes United will enjoy more freedom than in their tightly-contested opening day win against Tottenham,
"With it being Villa's first home game, they will come out really attacking against us, which opens it up for Rooney and Memphis Depay," said Robson. "We'll see the best of Memphis in this game if he gets the space to be able to run at defenders one on one.
"I just felt the first home game at Old Trafford meant there were a bit of nerves on Saturday. It was a really warm day and a lot of safety in the way that we played the game. So it wasn't as exciting as it usually is against Tottenham, with end-to-end football and lots of goals.
"But Villa Park is always a terrific ground for Untied and I'm expecting us to go there and get something out of the game. Villa are a little bit the same as ourselves as they had six new players who played at the weekend. It was a good result for them. Bournemouth gave them a good game and had a few chances that they missed."
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