Manchester United must win title or Louis van Gaal must go, claims former player

Louis van Gaal should be sacked in the summer barring a title win according to Robbie Savage

IF Louis van Gaal fails to win the Premier League title Manchester United must sack him, according to ex-player Robbie Savage.

 

United crashed out of the Champions League with a 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg, leaving them to play Europa League football after Christmas.

And Savage believes all the pressure is now on Van Gaal to win the league or this season will be a fatal failure for the manager.

"If he doesn’t win the title this season, he might as well pack his bags," Savage wrote in his column.

 

"Winning the FA Cup will not be enough. 

"Not now, not after the way United failed to qualify from a Champions League group they should have been able to negotiate in blindfolds.

"And forget about the Europa League - there are too many decent sides left in the competition. United are not good enough to win it.

 

"For me, the equation for Van Gaal is simple: it’s the title or bust."

Van Gaal claimed this week that he is 'still rebuilding' United, having inherited a side that had finished seventh in the 2013/14 Premier League under David Moyes.

That team, playing without Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm for the first time since 1986, at least reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Their Dutch manager can now only dream of such an achievement this season.

 

Van Gaal has spent more than £200million on new players, including Anthony Martial (£36m) and Memphis Depay (£25m) this summer, but has yet to deliver any meaningful success to Old Trafford.

Added to that, Savage claims that the manager's style this season - United have been far more defensive-minded this year - will only accelerate his departure.

"Most of us have spent the last 18 months trying to work out Van Gaal’s philosophy," added Savage.

"We are still none the wiser, and there is £230m less in the bank.

"For a club who used to have Cole, Yorke, Sheringham and Solskjaer among their attacking options, how is the cupboard so bare now?

"If, as he claims, Van Gaal can’t understand why there are boos at Old Trafford after a goalless draw with West Ham, or why the fans demand 'attack, attack, attack' when they are playing dull, sterile football at home, heaven help him."