MICHAEL OWEN believes Manchester United are getting worse under Louis van Gaal.
Van Gaal has come under fire in recent months with United making early exits from the Champions League and the Capital One Cup.
The Dutchman's style of play has also been criticised, with United struggling in front of goal.
Van Gaal's side, who have now failed to score a first-half goal for 10 home matches in a row, needed an injury-time penalty from captain Wayne Rooney to beat Sheffield United in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
And Owen believes the Red Devils have gone backwards since sacking David Moyes and replacing him with Van Gaal.
He told talkSPORT: “It is getting worse [under Van Gaal]. It is certainly not getting better.
“People are surprised at how bad they have been playing but we have been covering them on the television for some time now and that was a normal performance against Sheffield United.
"You go to Old Trafford and you are not entertained like you used to be. And that is a serious problem when you are a club like Manchester United.
“The players are virtually being strangled in many ways.
"When you have got two full-backs that hardly venture forward, you have got two big sitting central midfield players that really don’t offer much going forward and you have got your two centre-halves and your goalkeeper, you are talking seven players straight away that are in there to be defensive-minded.
"Then you are asking four players to go and try and break down eleven and it is virtually impossible.
“It is literally four players against a team and it is difficult for anyone to get any space or any chances."
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