Louis Van Gaal has made it clear that he wants to win the FA Cup this season with Manchester United.
The main objective for the club this campaign will be to get back into the top four. Only a few weeks ago, the possibility of mounting an unlikely title challenge seemed to come good. This has been spoiled by the recent run of three draws in four matches. After being knocked out of the League Cup at a very early stage, United have been looking into the possibility of scheduling midweek friendly matches in order to keep the players happy.
The arrival of the FA Cup, though, gives Van Gaal a competitive option. He also sees the trophy – the oldest in world football – as an ideal way to show the progress that he has made in the last six months at the club. After struggling heavily to get results during the first few months, van Gaal has shown that he can work his magic yet again. League One strugglers Yeovil Town will be the opponents for United in the third round of the FA Cup. Given the lower stature and the poor form of the opponents, there is a tendency for United to relax. Van Gaal has rejected those suggestions by saying that he will be fielding his strongest team.
“We know from our early exit in the [League] Cup that league places mean nothing in the cups but I know that also from Ajax and Barcelona so it’s not only like that in England.It is always a shock when you play against a lower team because you can assume that you have to win but it is not like that in football.I have lost with Ajax against a lower team – against Cambuur, for example. I lost at Barcelona against a third-division team,” said Van Gaal.