They’re fighting a losing battle.
It seems that Manchester United’s press office are working overtime trying to put out fires in the media. Since the moment that Saturday’s FA Cup was won, manager Louis van Gaal’s future has been the subject of huge debate and rumour.
All the major news agency ran the story that Jose Mourinho was to replace Van Gaal this coming week, within minutes of the end of extra-time at Wembley. It was a clear indication that they’d be briefed by a direct source.
It wasn’t United, who did not appreciate their day of glory being hijacked by Mourinho headlines. Rather it was almost certainly the work of the Portuguese’s mischievous agent, Jorge Mendes.
Van Gaal himself seemed to confirm the reports on Sunday morning, when he told Sky Sports that “It’s over”. This was taken to mean his two-year tenure at Old Trafford was coming to an end.
Louis van Gaal tells #SSNHQ reporter "it's over" when leaving @ManUtd team hotel. https://t.co/8ngPsWiCPR
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 22, 2016
But United have valiantly tried to douse the latest speculation by telling the Mirror that what the big Dutchman meant was that the 2015/16 season had just finished.
Nice try, but Van Gaal will have known exactly how his words would be taken and the bets are very much off on him being replaced by former protege Mourinho in coming days.
