Louis van Gaal has insisted he has not left himself short of striking options at Manchester United and is not relying too heavily on Wayne Rooney to score the team’s goals this season.
Van Gaal takes his side into the first leg of their Champions League play-off against Club Brugge at Old Trafford on Tuesday knowing there is growing scrutiny on the team’s captain because of his listless start to the season and the club’s decision to move out Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao without bringing in another striker, although Ed Woodward, the club’s chief executive, flew to Barcelona on Monday to negotiate over a £22m move for Pedro.
United scored only 62 goals last season, their second lowest tally in the Premier League era and two fewer than in the previous campaign under David Moyes, but Van Gaal reacted tetchily when it was put to him that Rooney, approaching his 30th birthday, might not be the player he once was. Rooney managed only one touch in Aston Villa’s penalty area during Friday’s win and, though his performance drew criticism from Van Gaal directly after the game, the United manager also pointed out that when he used the England captain in midfield last season there was a clamour for him to be moved back to attack.
“I always have confidence in my players but we don’t have only Wayne Rooney in the striker’s position,” Van Gaal said. “We have Adnan Januzaj too. He played in the USA [in pre-season] in the striker’s position, so I have given him that chance and he has shown he can do that. We have Chicharito and we have James Wilson so I don’t think we have a lack of strikers.”
Brugge finished runners-up in the Belgian league last season and Van Gaal said he anticipated a game of “high pressure” given the prize that is at stake and the importance it holds for a club with United’s ambitions.
“There is a lot of pressure but it is a difficult kind of match. Brugge can defend very well and they can also attack. All the players and the fans and the board of this club want to participate in the Champions League. So the pressure is high. We have to show our quality against a good team so you can’t say there is not any pressure.”
United have won their opening two Premier League games this season without conceding a goal but Van Gaal has been displeased with the performances, attacking-wise, on both occasions. “It is always a concern,” he said. “A manager always wants the perfect game but that game has never been played. You can see it in all the other teams as well – they are not, at this moment, at the highest level. We have a long way to go but we have had a better start than last year and two clean sheets, which tells you about our structure and balance. I have confidence that we develop ourselves to a much higher level.”
