Ahead of the return leg of his team’s Europa League round of 32 clash against Midtjylland, Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal, has hinted that the constant media fuss about Jose Mourinho taking over his job may be affecting the players’ performance.
This follows a string of criticisms from different quarters about the team’s dull approach to games and their terrible results along the way.
The team have been knocked out of the Champions League, Capital One Cup and are currently fifth in the EPL, 12 points behind surprise leaders Leicester City.
Also, they go into today’s return leg against the Danish side on the disadvantage, having slumped to a shock 2-1 loss in the first leg.
Van Gaal said: : “There is a lot of criticism so it can influence them.
“But they have to use their tools to ignore the criticism because that’s very important, not only the criticism of their manager but also of themselves.”
Mourinho is rumoured to be the first in line to replace the Dutchman and has hinted he’s ready to wait till the summer.
The 53-year-old Portuguese tactician said in Singapore when asked by newsmen that: “Starting next season with a new club and project is probably the best for me.”
However, he declined to elaborate, telling journalists who told him to name the club: “That’s the $1million question.”
Although the team put in a decent performance in the 3-0 win over Shrewsbury in the FA Cup on Monday, being knocked out of the Europa League may spell the end for van Gaal at Old Trafford.