Louis van Gaal has suggested that he is ready to walk away from Manchester United before he is pushed.
Yesterday’s 2-0 loss to Stoke City was a seventh game without victory for the Red Devils, and increased the pressure on the Dutchman amid rumours that he could be sacked, as The Mirror reports.
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But, according to the Daily Mail, Van Gaal, who signed a three-year contract when he replaced David Moyes in 2014, will quit if he oversees a fifth United defeat in a row against Chelsea on December 28.
The 64-year-old’s own words after another dark day at the Britannia Stadium, which left them sixth in the table and three points adrift of the top four, certainly indicated that he is considering resigning.
BBC Sport quote him as saying: “It is not always the club that has to fire or sack me.
“Sometimes I do that by myself, but I am the one who wants to speak first with the board of Manchester United and my members of staff and my players, not with you.”
Van Gaal believes that he maintains the support of his players and Old Trafford chief executive Ed Woodward, but admits that the circumstances may have changed following this latest setback.
“We have lost so there is a new situation,” BBC Sport quotes him as saying. “The circumstances now play a bigger role and will in the next game also. We have to cope with that and look for the solution.
“It is very difficult as I’m also part of four losses and I have to cope with that and I have to manage that. More important is that my players shall manage that because they have to perform.”
Van Gaal famously walked away from Barcelona in 2000, although quitting United would arguably be a braver move as he has revealed that this will be his last job before retirement, as Sky Sports report.
His assistant manager and United legend Ryan Giggs might be in pole position to succeed Van Gaal in the short term, but sacked Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is being lined up, according to The Sun.
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