LOUIS VAN GAAL has warned Manchester United's disenchanted fans he intends to stay to the bitter end.
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| Louis van Gaal's Manchester United have lost four of their last eight league games |
The under-fire Dutchman says he has never offered to quit, still has the backing of the club's hierarchy and wants to see out the remaining 18 months on his three-year contract.
That will stun supporters who are bored by Van Gaal's tactics and vented their anger by booing him and his team off the pitch following the 1-0 home defeat by Southampton last Saturday.
Despite a dismal run of only three wins in 13 games in all competitions, Van Gaal has received a vote of confidence from United's American owners, the Glazer family, and executive vice chairman Ed Woodward, although, bizarrely, he says that has only served to increase the pressure he is feeling.
Ahead of Friday's FA Cup tie at Derby, he said: "I have signed a three-year contract, it is a process - not one game - and I want to continue until the end. If am not willing to do that, I don't think I would have started here one and a half years ago.
"I am very happy with the support of Ed Woodward and the Glazer family. It is fantastic but it also gives you more pressure.
"When the board has such confidence in you then the pressure is much higher than when they say, 'it is your last game' or something like that because then the confidence is not so high and you can fight against it and when you can fight you have a bigger motivation than when they support you.
"I have always had faith in people when I have signed for clubs. I spoke with the CEO and with the owners, not just at United, but at Bayern Munich and Barcelona and I always had faith that they would support me."
He described reports that he has offered to resign following last weekend's dismal defeat as "ugly and horrible" before adding: "I have not mentioned that [resignation] ever."
Van Gaal's hopes of avoiding a cup exit tonight have been hit by the absence of eight players - six of them able to play in the full-back positions.
Phil Jones, Matteo Darmian, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw are all out, plus midfield pair Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick, although the latter might be fit enough to be on the bench.
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