As speculation over Louis van Gaal's tenure at Old Trafford grows in the build-up to the final day of the league, the Dutchman says the board will have to get rid of him as he is committed to being the manager of the club when the new season kicks off in August.
When asked about his future ahead of the Bournemouth game on Sunday, Van Gaal responded: “I have said I shall be here – that is my opinion – so the board has to decide if it is like that,
"I have [led them] already now in very difficult circumstances – I had 14 injuries and you have sacked me for five, six, seven months," he continued.
Despite the fact that the club require a victory over Bournemouth and a favour by Swansea as they face Manchester City, Van Gaal believes being in the race for fourth is something United can be proud to say despite the fact that failure to secure a Champions League place would be outside the club's aims for the season,
“Of course you can say Manchester United need to be champions. Yes, I know the expectations are like that but I don’t think that is realistic. We are still in the race [for fourth]. You cannot say we are not. We can win the FA Cup. How many are still in the race? How many? It’s not so much. Of course when we don’t qualify ourselves we don’t reach our aim. That is true because our aim was to qualify but we are in the final of the FA Cup and we are in the race in the last match mathematically – we can qualify ourselves still. How many teams can say that? Not many.”
Jose Mourinho had been tipped to become the next manager of the club but a spanner was thrown into the works when reports by Duncan Castles suggested the Portuguese manager was offered the job for the 2017 season - something the former Chelsea manager was unwilling to wait around for.
Van Gaal has one year to run on his current deal at United and will need a victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final to further his case that he is the right man for the job at the club.
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