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Sport

24th Jan 2016

Louis van Gaal reveals the disappointment that is haunting him most at Old Trafford

Kevin McGillicuddy

Louis van Gaal looks like a man who is told day after day that a car has rolled over his cat.

He carries a deflated demeanour in post-match interviews, as the pressure increases day by day with Manchester United continuing flounder under his stewardship.

The Dutchman saw his side lose 1-0 to Southampton on Saturday afternoon to slip further away from the chance of the title, and afterwards the ex-Bayern Munich boss admitted that one disappointment more than all haunts him at Old Trafford.

Louis-van-Gaal

It’s not the fact that Maroaune Fellaini still cannot trap a football, or that Wayne Rooney’s hair appears to be once again receding despite extensive treatment.

Instead, Van Gaal feels worst for the fans who constantly boo him off the field nowadays because they expect much better than two shots on target in 90 minutes of football.

“I’m very disappointed that I cannot reach the expectations of the fans,” he said after Saturday’s loss. “They have – or they had – great expectations of me, and I cannot fulfil them, so I am very frustrated because of that.”

He perhaps means ‘have not’ rather than ‘cannot’ – but either way, it sure sounds like a man ready to give up the ghost.