Louis van Gaal has his sight on a top-four finish in his maiden outing with Manchester United
United finished a disappointing seventh-place last season and are not competing in Europe in the present campaign.
Despite a hugely successful pre-season, the ‘Red Devils’ have endured a poor start to the season, which culminated in a second round ouster from the League Cup- for the first time since 1995- after a 4-0 humiliation at Milton Keynes Dons on Tuesday.
The poor show of form early into the season seem to have broken the fans’ confidence, as questions are beginning to be asked about the chances of returning on the European stage next season, but the 63-year-old, who has won the league titles in Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, reiterates there is that need for patience.
“I am confident I will succeed here but I need time. We are building up a new team. I have said many times that I need time. It always takes three months. Players are used to other philosophies,” Van Gaal said in his pre-match media briefing ahead of Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off at Burnley.
Outlining his aims and expectations, the Dutch boss, who led Ajax to European Champions League glory within four years of assuming the management role, hopes to restore the Premier League team where they belong at the end of the season. He wants to win the Premier League in 2015/16 and then the Champions League the following season.
“I hope we are in the top four this season because the Champions League suits a club like United, and then maybe the next step is to be champions and then the next step is to be the winners of the Champions League,” the United manager said.
Van Gaal is used to proving critics wrong and would not let the poor start deter him in his first season in charge of an English team.
He admits there are lots of work to be done for his philosophy to work at Old Trafford and expects the trip to Turf Moor to present an already familiar challenge.
“They will play with a lot of passion, a lot of long balls, but you have to fight against it,” he said. “It will be a very difficult game but we have to show we can play football, that we can pass the ball in spite of the pressure of Burnley.”
