United need time to learn my methods –Van Gaal
New
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has warned fans not to expect
instant success, saying it will take three months for his players to get
used to his style and methods, Reuters reports.
The Dutchman, brought in following the
sacking of David Moyes less than 10 months after taking the job at Old
Trafford, is introducing a new 3-4-1-2 formation and increasing the
technical demands on his players.
United, who finished outside the European
places in seventh last season, play Swansea City, Sunderland and
Burnley in their first three Premier League matches but despite a
relatively comfortable start, Van Gaal warned against immediate success.
“Every club where I have been, I have
struggled for the first three months,” Van Gaal told reporters on the
club’s pre-season tour in the United States.
“After that, they know what I want, how I am as a human being and also as a manager because I am very direct.
“I say things as they are, so you have to
adapt to that way of coaching. It’s not so easy and also the way I
train and coach is in the brains and not the legs.
“A lot of players are playing intuitively
and I want them to think and know why they do something. That’s a
process that is difficult at first.
“When we survive for the first three
months, it will be the same as at Bayern (Munich). After three months
there, we were seventh (in the Bundesliga) and third in the Champions
League (group stage).
“We had to win at Juventus, we did and that was the turning point.”
Van Gaal, who led the Netherlands to
third place at the World Cup in Brazil, said he turned down an approach
by Tottenham Hotspur before taking the United job, and would not engage
in verbal sparing with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese recently hit out at the
wage demands of new United defender Luke Shaw, but Van Gaal said he
would not let him get under his skin.
“He shall not do that with me,” Van Gaal, who appointed Mourinho as his assistant while at Barcelona, said.
“I play against Chelsea and not against Jose Mourinho. My team and his team are playing against each other.”
United reportedly spent close to 60
million pounds ($101.59 million) on Shaw and Spanish midfielder Ander
Herrera last month but van Gaal said he was determined to give
opportunities to the young players already at the club.
“When you see Ajax, I had the youngest
team to win the Champions League with 17, 18, 19-year-old players. And
the way you see Barcelona still playing with six players from my time is
because I gave a lot of chances to the youth players.”
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