Excuses, excuses... does Van Gaal really care what Man United fans want?

The Dutchman has presented a number of supposed reasons for the current discontent around Old Trafford, and none of them are convincing anybody.When Wayne Rooney slammed home the 93rd-minute penalty that sent Manchester United into the fourth round of the FA Cup, many of their fans were already well on their way home after giving up on their side’s sterile performance and heading for an early exit. Manager Louis van Gaal, though, put the early exodous down to a desire to beat the traffic.The Dutchman takes his team to Newcastle on Tuesday night needing a convincing performance to win over the increasing number of dissenters among the United faithful, yet he spoke on Monday like a man content in the knowledge that everyone is behind him.Van Gaal admitted after the uninspiring win over Sheffield United on Saturday that his side’s passing was too laboured and one-dimensional, yet in his press conference two days later he came up with further questionable explanations for the struggle to see off the League One side.He claimed the sight of 74,284 fans watching on at Old Trafford for a third-round tie was an endorsement of him and his side, despite the ironic cheers that could be heard after Memphis Depay supplied United’s first notable attacking piece of play midway through the second half. Van Gaal’s assertion also failed to take into account the fact that season ticket holders are duty-bound to buy FA Cup tickets as part of their financial commitment.

He added that it was due to Sheffield United’s defensive approach rather than the Reds’ stagnant attack that they managed to find the target only once before Rooney’s injury-time winner, insisting it is easier for minnows to defend in numbers than it is for bigger clubs to find spaces up against third-division defences.For Manchester United fans, who have had to sit through 10 successive goalless opening periods at Old Trafford, the excuses are wearing increasingly thin. Boos have become more frequent of late and, whatever Van Gaal’s claims, Saturday’s mass early exit was a clear reflection of the growing frustration among the United faithful.And former United star Gordon McQueen says he fully understands the supporters’ disappointments, telling Goal that there’s no way back for Van Gaal in many of the fans’ minds.“The fans have been unbelievably supportive, but now they are absolutely fed up,” he said.“They have begun to turn and I don’t see him regaining their trust. They started to turn against him about a month ago and the boos are getting longer and louder.“The fans are leaving earlier and earlier. Yes, some have always left early to beat the traffic, but Old Trafford has rows and rows of empty seats now before the final whistle and that is down to the performances and not the traffic.”McQueen joked: “There will be some fans so upset with what they are seeing that they will be running out to get run over by the traffic.”And after Van Gaal’s insistence on Monday that fans should be happy with victories no matter how they come, McQueen believes the realignment of expectations under the Dutchman is a cause for concern.
“He’s lowering the bar at this club. I don’t know what he is thinking. It baffles me. He’s spent over £250 million on a team that is worse than the one he inherited,” he continued.“It isn’t good enough for Manchester United just to beat teams like Swansea and Sheffield United, they have to do it convincingly and with some style. He doesn’t seem to understand that.“Old Trafford has always been an intimidating place for visiting teams with 75,000 fans on their backs. Some teams couldn’t cope and were beaten as soon as they stepped on the pitch.