Louis Van Gaal Is Thankful For Sir Alex Ferguson's Support

Louis van Gaal appreciates the support that he is receiving from Sir Alex Ferguson as he goes about his job re-building a new Manchester United team from scratch. Surely Sir Alex, who had put together several new teams and let go of the old guard during his 26 years at the club know the difficulty of that job. "A great coach, who will do well", is what the predecessor had to say about the incumbent.

Manchester United face a very busy festive fixture list in the next few days. They play Newcastle United at home on Boxing Day, Tottenham Hotspurs away at White Hurt Lane just a couple of days later. Three days after that on New Year's Day they travel to The Britannia to face Stoke City FC. Finally again three days later they go to Yeovil Town FC for a FA Cup third round tie.

Unfortunately the manager had to deal with more than 40 injuries in the five months that he has been in charge. As for now he will have to do without Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Marouane Fellaini. Chris Smalling is expected to be back for the Boxing Day fixture and the others at different times in the four matches to be played.

"As a manager of Manchester United, you need belief and support of managers such as Sir Alex", said the grateful van Gaal. This year, even according to visiting managers like Alan Pardew, the situation is much more stable than the last. The Board of Directors, that includes Sir Alex, has shown a lot of patience and provided a lot of cash for van Gaal to succeed. Incidentally even though it is a tradition in the club to practice a day before a match, the manager has given The Christmas Day off for the players to be with friends and family.