Video: Football panel back beleaguered Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal

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The Sunday Supplement panel have questioned whether it would be wise for Manchester United to make a managerial change and replace Louis van Gaal now.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, The Mirror’s John Cross argued that although the Dutchman is struggling at this stage, it would be a “bizarre” decision by the club to change their manager during the middle of the season.

United were dumped out of the Champions League earlier this month and will now feature in the Europa League in the second half of the campaign, while they have slipped nine points behind Premier League leaders Leicester City having failed to win a league game since the end of November.

However, Cross is adamant that the Dutch tactician should stay until the end of the season, when the club can then reevaluate their position and look to bring in a long-term replacement.

His argument was also based on the fact that he believes United are “still in the Premier League mix” as they sit just outside the top four, while suggesting that they were never particularly fancied to make a sustained title push this season.

As a result, if they can secure Champions League football next season, then they can build again with a different manager with Pep Guardiola perhaps on the shortlist after the Spaniard announced that he would be leaving Bayern Munich next summer, as noted by BBC Sport.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how patient the United hierarchy are if results continue in their current trend, as three consecutive defeats in all competitions is undoubtedly raising the frustration levels at Old Trafford as Van Gaal’s style of play continues to attract significant criticism.

Whether or not he survives until the end of the season remains to be seen, but in the short term, the former Ajax boss knows that he must improve things quickly in order to avoid the campaign becoming a disaster.

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