Manchester United 1 Norwich 2: Louis van Gaal fears being sacked but insists he's still the right man in charge
Van Gaal saw his side fail to win a sixth match on the spin as fans expressed their displeasure with United's current form
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Your support makes all the difference.Louis van Gaal has admitted that he fears the sack after Manchester United’s poor run of form stretched to six matches without a win following the 2-1 defeat by Norwich that leaves his side nine points of Premier League leaders Leicester.
A third successive defeat for United meant that Tottenham jumped above them into fourth, leaving United out of the Champions League qualification places and losing further ground on their title rivals.
With Jose Mourinho sacked by Chelsea on Thursday, Van Gaal is now the bookmakers’ favourite to be sacked next in the Premier League, and this latest result prompted suggestions that the 52-year Portuguese could be the man to replace Van Gaal if he fails to turn around their form.
Asked after the defeat if he fears being sacked, Van Gaal said: "Yes of course I am worried about that because I know that belief in a manager is very important, and when you lose the games you play then the belief in a manager shall decrease. That is happening now. I cannot close my eyes to that."
However, Van Gaal continued to back himself and stated that he still believes he is the right man to bring success back to United.
"Yes, I think so,” he said when asked if he should stay in the job for the foreseeable future. “I don't think a change of management shall bring direct success - but that is what I believe. Maybe that is not so interesting.
Van Gaal added: "I am always evaluating myself because I think that is an aspect of the philosophy I have. But the philosophy is also making an evolution - I am not the same coach I was 25 years ago.
"So, you are always evaluating and of course that philosophy is very important for me. Because of that I am - or maybe I have to say now, was - a very successful manager."
The 64-year-old Dutchman admitted that his side are in a “very bad period” after failing to win any of their last six games in all competitions, and after seeing goals from Cameron Jerome and Alexander Tettey rule Anthony Martial’s second-half effort as a mere consolation, he explained that the squad need to united in order to come through their bad run of form.
"What you have seen today is what a lack of confidence can do,” he said. “It was not good enough. It is also confirmation we are in a very bad period and we have to come out of that bad period.
"You have to win against Norwich City, you have to win every home match. We did that this season until now. The problem is how we can manage to come out of this bad period.
"That can be done when you are sticking together, not only the players, manager and staff, but also the fans, because that is very important."
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