Things don’t look very bright for the Red Devils as the boss reveals that 8 out of their regular 9 players are not injured and that makes the clash against Bournemouth a difficult one.
This week has been a downward spiral for Van Gaal and his boys. First they were thrown out of the Champions League and now they face Bournemouth without quality players. As Van Gaal talked to reporters before the away match against Bournemouth on Saturday, he told the gathering about the injuries plaguing the team with Smalling and Darmian too added to the list of injured players that features stalwarts like Rooney, Rojo, Phil Jones and Luke Shaw. “It is not so good. We have eight injured players because Darmian and also Smalling we can add to this list, and Schweinsteiger is also suspended, so it’s nine players who are not able to play. Schneiderlin is coming back, that’s not a problem, but we have a list of eight players injured and Rojo has been operated on this week and it takes a long time. These injuries are very heavy – Shaw and Valencia have also been operated on and that’s our problem” said the Dutchman further elaborating on the team’s injury woes.
When talking about the mid week loss to Wolfsburg, Van Gaal said that it has been taxing but the players are doing their best. “You can lose and you can win in sport , and you have to accept that, as a player and as a manager, but you have to work hard , and I am working hard and my players are working hard and doing everything we can do. The problem is we have to meet expectation and the expectations at a club like Manchester United are very high, thats our problem” added the stern boss.
On his credibility to lead United, Van Gaal said he had no inhibitions and to him he is the right man for the job. And when asked whether he would be happy with just potentially winning the Europa League this season, Van Gaal’s reply was “Just? You think its just? I am not thinking like that. I have already won the Europa League with Ajax in my first season and I was very proud of that. For me the Euro League is a big competition”.