Van Gaal tells United fans to jeer him, not team

Louis van Gaal has responded to growing criticism from Manchester United supporters by asking them to take out their frustration on him rather than his under-pressure players.

United are in the midst of a difficult period which saw them fail to score in successive games against Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace.

To compound matters, the Middlesbrough stalemate led to a penalty shoot-out defeat for Van Gaal's side and an exit from the English League Cup.

Matters improved slightly with a 1-0 Champions League win over CSKA Moscow in midweek but supporters remain frustrated and have been widely critical of what is seen as a lack of ambition and attacking intent from Van Gaal's side.

The United manager admitted on Friday that he was surprised to discover the amount of pressure being placed on his stars in home games at the start of last season and claimed he could "taste" the apprehension among his side.

Caption: Louis Van Gaal

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