On the night when Leicester City won the Barclays Premier League title, Louis van Gaal was telling Manchester United fans that their expectations are far too high.
Leicester’s remarkable league triumph was confirmed on Monday evening after Tottenham Hotspur drew 2-2 away to Chelsea. It is the first time that Leicester have won the title and bookmakers were feeling the pain after pricing Claudio Ranieri’s team at 5,000-1 at the start of the campaign.
Two hundred miles north, United were “celebrating” their player of the year awards at Old Trafford. After such a poor season, there was little to salute. David De Gea became the first man to win the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, voted for by supporters, for the third successive season.
At the end of the evening, Van Gaal, the United manager, took to the stage and launched into a remarkable monologue, defending himself and his United players even though they are fifth in the table, 17 points behind Leicester.
“We are in a period of transition. It is not so easy,” the Dutchman said. “We have to meet the expectations of the biggest club in the world. Expectations are too high.”
Advertisement
That Van Gaal, manager of a club that has won the title 20 times, claimed too much is being demanded of him on the same night that Leicester were crowned champions, did not go down well with many United fans. But he went on to insist that he remains one of the best managers in the world and claimed that he has been the victim of a smear campaign.
“When the media is writing for six months I am sacked already, I can cope with that. It is not new for me. For my players, it is not so easy,” he said. “They are reading every day. What do you think about my authority? I am very arrogant. I am one of the best managers of the world.”
