Stepping into the weathered boots of Alex Ferguson, tried on for a bit by David Moyes, is no easy task.
Louis van Gaal was always going to be compared to the greatest manager to ever sit in the Old Trafford dugout in terms of playing style, transfer dealings and interaction with the players.
Legendary Manchester United full back Gary Neville sees a distinct difference between the way that both managers deal with the dressing room and the current Sky Sports pundit is left concerned by the lack of emotion displayed by Van Gaal in how he handles his players.
“There seems to be an element of the iron fist with Van Gaal,” Neville writes in his Telegraph column. “For 25 years people talked of Sir Alex’s ‘hairdryer’ but Sir Alex had compassion, while Van Gaal tends to be colder in his dealings with players.
“It hardly bodes well when players are brought through the door by a manager who then discards or marginalises them.
“Di Maria, Valdes, Falcao, Rojo, Van Persie – and there are others. That’s too many players to get on the wrong side of.
“These are not bad lads. So I’m slightly concerned that there is this iron fist being applied to players who I look at from personal experience and think: they’re quite good people. I know some of those lads, and they are what I would classify as really good professionals.”
Neville also believes that the abrasive nature of the Dutchman in press conferences needs to come to a stop because, essentially, he is disregarding the concerns of fans that are being addressed by the media.
“Van Gaal can’t keep being abrupt with every journalist and broadcaster in press conferences, or telling them they know nothing, because ultimately he is talking to the fans, and the fans think a lot of the same things.
“The fans are also asking: why did we leave De Gea out, why are we letting people go when we have no replacement?”
To believe that these comments suggest that Neville is turning on Van Gaal is understandable but the former captain reveals that the United boss has his full support but that the alarm bells are loudening.
“People might think I have an inside line. I don’t. I’m looking from the outside.
“The one thing you can be sure of as a Manchester United fan is that Louis van Gaal is sure of himself. That helps. The club should continue to get behind him.
“But it’s getting more difficult to ignore those flashing red lights.”
