LOUIS VAN GAAL insists he has never offered to quit as Manchester United manager - and still has the backing of the club's hierarchy.
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| Louis van Gaal's Manchester United travel to Derby in the FA Cup on Friday before hosting Stoke next |
But the Dutchman bizarrely claims that the seemingly unwavering support of United’s American owners the Glazers and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has actually increased the pressure on him.
Van Gaal is grateful for the backing he has received form the board after fans booed him following the home defeat to Southampton last Saturday.
Woodward re-assured him this week that his job is safe - after consulting the Glazers - and Van Gaal says it has increased his determination to justify their faith.
He said: “It [the support] is fantastic of course, but that also gives you a lot of pressure. When the board has such confidence, the pressure is much higher than when they say it is the last game.
“When their confidence is not so high, you can fight against it, but then I always fight.”
The Dutchman denied he had ever offered his resignation, either after the Boxing Day defeat at Stoke or after the dismal home performance against Saints that provoked the angry crowd reaction. And he accused the media of making up stories about him.
“I have not mentioned that [resignation], ever, I think you make your own stories and then I have to answer your stories, it is awful and horrible, that you can write it," he said in a tense press conference ahead of the FA Cup tie at Derby tomorrow.
“I don’t think I have to do it I don’t think a press conference is the moment to talk about that. I am very concerned that people are believing what you are writing. I receive a lot of calls and text messages from people asking me if it is true. But this is the world where you can write what you want.
“This is the third time that I have been ‘sacked’ and I am still sitting here for you, but only because I am obliged to do it. There are certain people who I like because they put the question in a respectful way, but others are in a disrespectful way.”
Asked if the scrutiny at United was any different to that he faced at his previous clubs he replied: “I have always faced this, of course, but when you lose it is even worse. Now I cannot lose anymore because I will be condemned for the fourth time, but maybe that is the truth because sometimes that happens.”
After only three wins in 13 games in all competitions, Van Gaal knows the pressure from the fans – if not the board – will only intensify if they crash out of the Cup against the Championship promotion chasers tomorrow.
He added: “I don’t think it has anything to do with our Premier League form, it’s the FA Cup and we want to win it, like every club in England. Everybody has that ambition, it is another title, so we have to give everything for that.”
Asked about this downbeat mood after the Southampton defeat which led to suggestions he might quit, he said: “It is always like that when you lose a game, certainly in the last minute, that you are fed up.
“How we have played is not always the main issue because you can play badly and win. When that happens, you are not so fed up.
“But we have played very well and lost, like Chelsea away last season, so when that happens you are more fed up than ever.
“It is your duty as a manager and a player to stand up again and do what you do because that is a professional attitude.”
The bad news for Van Gaal is that Matteo Darmian is one of eight players out of tomorrow's cup-tie after suffering a rib injury against Southampton. Phil Jones, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia are the other casualties.
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