Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has made the headlines for his honest press conferences, but his comment about Uniteda s upcoming might not be as honest. They may, in fact, be some form of mind games to try to put the pressure off his players after United suffered a 1-2 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup on Monday night.
The Dutchman spoke fondly about Spursa style of play under Mauricio Pochettino who, like Van Gaal, had taken charge of the London club in last summer.
“They have a lot of talent because when you see the selection, you see a lot of youngsters playing and a lot of older players with experience who are not.
“Thata s also nice to see, the process of another club.
“I have to say they are playing well and I hope we can beat them – it shall be very difficult again.”
He also revealed how his team had reacted, following the defeat to Arsenal.
“They’ve reacted fantastically in the training sessions. I cannot speak more highly about the professional attitude of my players, they are willing to do everything.”
“I’m very pleased with the (players’) reaction and I hope we can show that against Spurs – the first of 10 matches in the rat race.
“Every game is very important. We must keep the fighting spirit and we have to be more effective in finishing our chances.”
Yet, Van Gaal admitted that the defeat may have an effect on the games coming up. United have a daunting fixture list ahead of them, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea all set to face Van Gaala s side in the next five games.
“Every game is very important because they each have an influence on the next game. The game against Arsenal has an influence on the match against Tottenham. We have to keep the fighting spirit and we have to be more effective in finishing our chances.”
As the Dutch manager said, United are in the middle of a five horse race for the final two Championsa League spots with the other teams being Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Liverpool and Southampton.