Louis van Gaal Accepts Tactical Struggle With Manchester United

Dutch manager Louis van Gaal has finally gone on record and accepted the fact that the Manchester United job is a tough one to handle.  The Dutchman admitted that he has been shifting uncomfortably in the dugout as he still struggling to get his tactics right even after spending more than half a season at Old Trafford.

louis van gaal

Van Gaal has been pressurized to ditch his 3-5-2 system in favour of the 4-4-2 that Ferguson preferred. Speaking ahead of their FA Cup tie against Cambridge United, the Dutchman revealed his struggle to main discipline within the side with this new formation and said,

“I know all the statistics. I know that with 4-4-2 the stats are giving the positive results. We have won more with 4-4-2 in a diamond, but when you analyse the game then we have twitched our a** on the bench. I said to my players I was squeezing my a**, but it was the wrong expression. I have twitched my a** on the bench because we were out of balance. When you go back to the press conference at the time I have said that, we are not in balance. All the matches when we play 4-4-2, like against West Ham United, I was always twitching my a** and I don’t like it.”

He further added,

“They are still not comfortable. That is very important, that they are comfortable. I would like them to feel more comfortable. But we have to do our preparation in the season so we are doing a lot of things during the matches. Of course it is very important to win all your games, but that is not possible in the Premier League. Nevertheless, in the last 15 games we only lost one and that was undeserved, we were the better team. But we have had a fantastic run of results, except Southampton at home. Up to now I am pleased and we are going in the right way. But we have to beat Cambridge United – and that is Gladioli or the death.”

Now, which formation will be used by the Red Devils in their FA Cup tie would depend on van Gaal’s decision.