http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=intl:2805168
Sunderland boss Sam
Allardyce believes Manchester United counterpart Louis van Gaal is strong
enough to deal with the speculation about his future.
The Dutchman has
spent recent weeks angrily denying his job is under threat amid reports that
the club has held discussions with potential replacement Jose Mourinho.
Allardyce and Van
Gaal will be in opposing dugouts at the Stadium of Light on Saturday as the
relegation-threatened Black Cats attempt to secure a first home league victory
over a resurgent United for the first time in 14 attempts since March 1997.
However, the
Englishman is not expecting his Red Devils counterpart to be distracted by
rumours.
He said: "What
you have to find out is whether it's true. If you find out whether it's true,
then you know where your fate lies.
"You don't
always find out whether it's true or not from the owners sometimes, but you
have got to try to find out, then you know one way or the other.
"The bigger the
club, the bigger the speculation and the more you have to cope, the more coping
mechanisms you have to have.
"Louis van Gaal
is experienced enough across the whole of Europe
to cope with those additional pressures which are thrust upon him at the
moment.
"He will be
focussed on his team getting yet another result because they are in good form
at the moment, so the players are doing his talking for him at the minute and
we have obviously got to stop those players performing as they have done
recently because they have picked up quite a few wins."
United are fifth in
the Barclays Premier League table, six points adrift of fourth-placed rivals
Manchester City in fourth - but they have lost only once in nine games in all
competitions and that run has coincided with the return to goalscoring form of
England skipper Wayne Rooney, who has seven in his last eight appearances.
Allardyce said:
"If we are going to get a result, the main reason would be trying to stop
Wayne Rooney in the goalscoring form he is in at the moment."
Sunderland remain
19th place, four points shy of safety despite last weekend's battling point at
Liverpool, and Allardyce knows they need to start producing something special
if they are to dig themselves out of trouble.
He said:
"Anybody that we can beat that we are not supposed to beat, it's going to
be a shock and a major bonus to us because of our position in the league.
"When you play
Manchester United and you can get a win, it's a result unexpected across the
board and a massive bonus in your fight against relegation."
Meanwhile, Van Gaal
does not know whether he will be at Manchester United next season if he fails
to qualify for the Champions League.
''It's not a
question for me, it's a question for the board of Manchester United, you have
to put it to them," he said.
''I have a contract
for three years and you know that.''
Van Gaal insists he
has no problem with United's failure to back him publicly.
Speculation has been
swirling around Van Gaal ever since United slipped out of the top four and
exited the Champions League.
Unlike when David
Moyes was under pressure, United have failed to intimate that Van Gaal has
their backing.
Some have taken that
as a sign that Van Gaal has lost the faith of the board and that they are
considering replacing him with Jose Mourinho.
But Van Gaal says he
does not mind that the club have not made a statement backing him.
''I am not agreeing
with that,'' the Dutchman said when asked if he was disappointed about any lack
of public backing from the club.
''Because I have
said many times that not all the media, but a lot of media, is inventing
stories and you don't have to answer on invented stories.
''I agree with this
policy of the club.''
Victory over Sunderland on Saturday would move United within three
points of the Champions League places as the top four are all playing the following
day.
Unfortunately for
Van Gaal, eight of his players are absent through injury.
Long-term absentees
Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ashley
Young remain sidelined while Phil Jones, Adnan Januzaj and Guillermo Varela all
suffered injuries in the under-21s' 7-0 win over Norwich on Monday.
Will Keane, who
scored five goals on Monday, is in the squad.
www.espnfc.us/barclays-premier-league/match/422407
No comments:
Post a Comment