Manchester United are third in the league, have a great chance to win the FA Cup and are largely winning yet all Louis van Gaal can hear is negativity.
United great Paul Scholes said what was on everyone’s minds however when he called watching his old club ‘miserable’ in his newspaper column on Thursday.
Miserable went some way to summing up the looks on United fans’ faces after the Burnley win on Wednesday but with Preston up next in the FA Cup fifth round, Van Gaal gave Scholes’ comments short shrift.
“It’s not a problem. He is one of the fans and they can criticise,” Van Gaal told media with a full three days before the short trip up north.
“All the players are used to that, they are not professionals for the first time.
“Maybe some players it does affect but normally it does not affect the players, me neither. When the performance is bad it is bad, when it is good it is good.”
Van Gaal reiterated his displeasure at the way United laboured to victory over relegation-strugglers Burnley at Old Trafford but also reminded journalists of his long-term goal: to help the three-times European champions get back on track post Sir Alex Ferguson.
“I am disappointed we played in that way [against Burnley], but we have another match to show we are still in our process and positive.
“When you see the results they are not bad I don’t think.”
United forward Robin van Persie, who scored the third goal in the 3-1 win over Burnley, is carrying a knock and may miss the Preston clash.
Meanwhile, Van Gaal is waiting on the fitness of defender Phil Jones and midfielder Daley Blind but Michael Carrick has had a minor setback.
Main image courtesy of BT Sport via YouTube, with thanks.
