Man Utd sacking like a public hanging, Van Gaal complains

Louis van Gaal: Tenure has been a huge disappointment

Louis van Gaal: Hits out at English media

Louis van Gaal believes the way he was sacked by Manchester United still leaves a sour taste.

Van Gaal has criticised the manner in which United handled his departure last summer, in which he parted company with the club two days after winning the FA Cup, with Jose Mourinho taking the reins a week later.

Van Gaal, who had been two years into a three-year contract, told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad: “The pressure was enormous with my head in the noose and they went right behind my back.

“I think it was all orchestrated like a film and it was done very much behind my back right from January (2016).

“United put my head in a noose and I was publicly placed on the gallows.”

Van Gaal’s comments come after Mourinho claimed United stagnated during the Dutchman and predecessor David Moyes’ reigns.

“There was an evolution in the other clubs; there was no evolution in this club,” Mourinho told the Sunday Times. “In all the areas that make a team successful I think we stopped in time.

“That was quite an empty period in the club with no evolution in areas that are important. It was the weight of the past on the shoulders of the players, managers, even boards, even probably owners, because when you are used to win and win and win, and suddenly you stop, it’s like a heavy burden.

“Today, we have better working conditions, a better medical department, a better analysis department, a better scouting department, a better media department, and in many cases we did it without changing the people, which is quite important.”