LONDON: A defiant Louis van Gaal takes Manchester United to Derby County in the FA Cup fourth round tonight (Friday night) insisting that he will see out the 18 months remaining on the three-year Old Trafford contract he signed in 2014.
Yesterday the Dutchman publicly thanked the club's executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, for the support he has shown him during a trying season. But Van Gaal also claimed that such backing brought added pressure to his position, especially with supporters vocal in their dissatisfaction with the team and manager in the wake of last weekend's miserable home defeat by Southampton.
However, despite that latest setback and reports that Van Gaal had offered to resign after that game, he insisted that he had no intention of leaving the post until his retirement date in 2017.
"I have signed a three-year contract and I have said in all my press conferences that it's a process, not one game," said Van Gaal. "And I want to continue until the end. If I am not willing to do that, I don't think I would have started here 11/2 years ago."
Van Gaal was in combative mood, justifiably, perhaps, given that he appears to retain the full backing of Woodward and the decision-makers at Old Trafford, even if the manager claimed that came at a price.
"It is fantastic of course, but that also gives you a lot of pressure," he said. "When the board has such confidence, the pressure is much higher than when they say it is your last game or something like that.
"When your confidence is not so high, you can fight against it. When you can fight, you have bigger motivation than when they support you. But I am always fighting."
Van Gaal's fighting instincts extended to an often-prickly exchange with reporters ahead of the trip to face Championship club Derby in the Cup.
The question of whether he had offered to stand down after the 1-0 defeat by Southampton was just one topic that drew an angry response from the manager.
"I have not mentioned that, ever," said Van Gaal. "I think that you make your own stories, then I have to answer your stories. I'm not doing that because I think it's awful and horrible that you can write [that] then I have to answer the question about those stories. I don't think I have to do that.
"I don't think the press conference is there for the moment to talk about that, when you make up your stories and the people are believing them. I'm very concerned that people are believing what you are writing because I receive a lot of calls and SMS.
"But OK, that is the world. This is the third time that I have been 'sacked' and I am still sitting here for you. I have always faced this [scrutiny]."
The question, also, of whether Van Gaal believed that the United team had progressed in the past
12 months of his tenure drew a terse insistence that he did not need to defend himself.
"When I say things to defend myself then it's not good," he said. "Because why do I have to defend myself? When you see the circumstances - we have eight injuries, you cannot say that is the manager's fault because five or six are contact injuries, and it's also the same position, full-back.
"We have been first in the Premier League - you may remember that - but that was 11/2 months ago and the injuries are now and that is also a problem. If I could prevent injuries then maybe I'm guilty and I have to stand down but not when I don't have that feeling and we were No.1 in the Premier League."
United are fifth in the table, 10 points behind first place and five from the Champions League positions. But, buoyed by the faith shown in him by the board, Van Gaal insists he can still fulfil the expectations of his employers and supporters.
"I have always faith," he said. "I have faith in people and when I have signed for clubs, I have spoken a long time with the CEO and owners, at Bayern Munchen and Barcelona, and I have the faith that they always support me.
"Of course I am very happy with the support of Woodward and the Glazers, but it also gives you more pressure because the fans believe in me, or maybe had believed in me.
"The pressure is greater because they expect you to fulfil your expectations of you. Of course we can fulfil those expectations, but I am more dependent on belief than facts. The facts are that we are not in the top four, the gap is bigger, so the belief is not so easy to believe."
The FA Cup remains Van Gaal's most realistic hope of ending this tempestuous season with silverware, although he sarcastically suggested that a difficult tie might actually mean his critics got their wish and saw him dismissed should his side lose.
"Of course," said Van Gaal when asked if the FA Cup offered the chance to forget league problems. "But also, if you lose then it's worse.
"Now I can't lose any more because then I will be condemned for the fourth time that I've been sacked and then maybe you have written the truth because sometimes it happens."
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