Van Gaal unsure of future if United miss Champions League

 

(Reuters) - Louis van Gaal does not know if he will still be managing Manchester United next season if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League.
United are fifth in the Premier League, trailing fourth-placed Manchester City by six points going into Saturday's trip to relegation-threatened Sunderland.
"It is not a question for me I think," the Dutchman told reporters on Friday when asked if a failure to finish in the top four would cost him his job.
"It is a question of the board of Manchester United, you have to put that question to them. I have a contract for three years and you know that," he added.


Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been widely linked with the United job in media reports, but Van Gaal, who has accused journalists of inventing the story, does not mind that the club have not publicly denied the rumours.
"I have said many times that not all the media, but a lot of media, is inventing stories and you don't have to answer on invented stories," he added.
United will be without Phil Jones, Adnan Januzaj and Guillermo Varela for the trip to Sunderland, but Antonio Valencia and Marcos Rojo are nearing full fitness.
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond

Van Gaal Van Gaal The Dutchman seems to have steadied the ship since the turn of the year with only one defeat in eight games although the likelihood of securing a top four finish, and with it the lucrative place in the Champions League, still seems distant. But with speculation consistently surrounding his future – and the shadow of Jose Mourinho never far from discussions about the Old Trafford job – van Gaal is clearly not able to guarantee his survival should his team miss out on the lucrative Champions League places. “It is not a question for me, I think,” said van Gaal. “It is a question of the board of Manchester United, you have to put that question to them. I have a contract for three years.” However, despite the uncertainty surrounding his position in charge of the club, van Gaal does not expect any clarification from his employers over his status. Van Gaal has spoken of his strong relationship, not only with executive vice chairman Ed Woodward but also with American owners the Glazers, and does not feel they need to respond to speculation over whether or not he will see out the third and final year of his United contract. “No,” said van Gaal. “I do not agree because I have said many, many times that – not all the media, of course – but a lot of the media is inventing stories and we don’t have to answer invented stories. I agree with this policy of the club.” – ‘Mentally strong’ – United have responded to the disaster of a home defeat to Southampton last month, which resulted in outright hostility from Reds’ supporters, with two wins and a draw and still retain interest in two cup competitions and the United manager believes his players are handling the pressure well given the turmoil around the club and surrounding his own job security. “I have to say that we are doing great in that respect,” he said. “Because we have lost four matches in a row in December but when you see us playing now you can only say that we are mentally very strong. “We can cope with the pressure but that is not enough. We have to improve our results and consistency and we have to win a lot of matches in a row now because we have to minimise the gap between us and our competitors.” However, the veteran United manager is not inclined to make a prediction about how many of their remaining matches United will have to win if they are to bridge that gap to the four leading clubs. “It’s also dependent on your competitors,” said van Gaal. “At the end of the competition the pressure is rising for everybody. Then you have to cope with that pressure and Manchester United is more or less used to that pressure.”

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/van-gaal-uncertain-about-future-if-united-miss-champions-league/

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been widely linked with the United job in media reports, but Van Gaal, who has accused journalists of inventing the story, does not mind that the club have not publicly denied the rumours.
"I have said many times that not all the media, but a lot of media, is inventing stories and you don't have to answer on invented stories," he added.
United will be without Phil Jones, Adnan Januzaj and Guillermo Varela for the trip to Sunderland, but Antonio Valencia and Marcos Rojo are nearing full fitness.
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond