Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is facing the axe if his men lose either of their next two Premier League fixtures.
The Dutchman is under extreme pressure following United’s third consecutive defeat at home against Norwich on Saturday.
The Glazer family, the club’s owners, and executive vice chairman Ed Woodward have become highly uncomfortable to witness the level of disquiet among the United fans. Within the playing squad also, there remains some discontent regarding van Gaal’s tactics and methods.
The Red Devils now travel to Stoke City on Boxing Day before hosting Chelsea just two days later, and the Club hierarchy is concerned that failure in either of those two games will leave the club in a dangerous position as their fight to get back into the Premier League title race will suffer a heavy blow.
The latest defeat was Manchester United’s sixth consecutive game without a win, which saw them drop out of the league’s top four.
Elimination from Champions League at the group stage earlier this month, and a Capital One Cup exit at Old Trafford at the hands of Championship club Middlesbrough in October made things more difficult for van Gaal.
There are increasing rumours that Jose Mourinho is keen to take charge at Old Trafford, having been dismissed by Chelsea on Thursday, while Pep Guardiola could also a contender to replace van Gaal following his confirmation that he is ready to leave Bayern Munich at the end of this season.
United boss also admitted after the Saturday’s defeat that he feared the worse, and has confirmed he would step down if he felt he had lost the support of his own players.
But when asked if that was the case after the last defeat, he stated: “No. I have seen the reaction of the players towards me.”
He went on to confirm that the board still have faith on him, having a brief discussion with Woodward after Saturday’s game. “I feel that support, yes,” he said.
Having led Netherlands to third place at last year’s World Cup, Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford on a three-year deal, and was immediately given the challenge of reviving United’s fortunes, which had slumped shockingly during the brief and unsuccessful era of David Moyes.
Having ended the 2013-14 season in the seventh position, United rose to fourth last season thanks to van Gaal, regaining a place in the Champions League.
However, even before the Red Devil’s poor recent run, van Gaal had himself to blame for the growing criticism from supporters and former players regarding his side’s unadventurous style of play decreasing the goal tally.
Paul Scholes, who has two Champions League titles and 11 Premier League silverwares under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson, has been consistent among the vocal critics, suggesting that he would not have enjoyed playing under van Gaal.
The fact that Mourinho is now out of job, and is understood to be interested in making a quick return to management after he was sacked by Chelsea, makes the Portuguese a more immediate threat to van Gaal. Ryan Giggs, Van Gaal’s assistant, is also considered as a potential candidate, and could take the charge at Old Trafford on an interim basis, as he did earlier when David Moyes was sacked in April 2014 following his nine months’ stint at Old Trafford.