Louis van Gaal Hints He Could Resign Following Man Utd’s Defeat at Stoke

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has denied to confirm whether he will be in charge of the club for their game against Chelsea on Monday, following the 2-0 loss to Stoke City on Boxing Day.

The Dutchman is under increasing pressure, as Manchester United have now lost four games in a row for the first time since 1961.

According to Yahoo, Van Gaal shockingly hinted that he could resign from his post due to the overwhelming pressure on his shoulders following recent form.

Asked if executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward should come out to defend his position, he said: “No. People are saying that to me [within the club]. I am not so interested in public announcements.

“I am the one who wants to speak first with the board of Manchester United, or with the staff, or with the players, not with you. The club doesn’t have to fire or sack me, sometimes I do it by myself.”

According to Sky Sports, he immediately said after the game in a televised interview: “It’s more difficult because I am also part of the four matches we have lost, so people are looking at me.

“And I have to deal with that, but much more important is that the players have to deal with that because they have to perform. [Pressure] is now the big issue. I try to do everything but the pressure shall be higher and higher every match, and we have to solve that problem.”

The Dutchman looked back on his press conference on Wednesday and insisted he wasn’t hurt by the recent speculation, adding: “I was not hurt. You don’t understand my message. My message is that the media are saying and writing things that does not confirm with what is happening in Manchester United. That was my message, not that I am hurt, because I am used to that.

“[The decision on my future] is another situation, we have lost the fourth game so you have to wait and see.”

On the game itself, he added: “My thoughts are that we don’t dare to play football in the first half and then we gave a very bad goal away.

“Then we have spoken with each other [at half-time] and I have to say the second half was much better, but still we have created one or two chances and then you have to score, and then maybe the belief is coming back.

“In the second half, we played better than the first half but the problem is we didn’t dare to play, and that’s my analysis.”