Louis Van Gaal Is Most Under Pressure for Man Utd After Southampton Defeat

For the first time in his Manchester United career, Louis van Gaal is under pressure. Not a lot of pressure, it must be said. And nothing like the suffocating heat David Moyes was feeling this time last year.

But there's pressure nonetheless after United's 1-0 defeat to Southampton. A poor result at home, fans openly questioning decisions and a post-match press conference that was fraught and uncomfortable. The signs are all there.

The Dutchman won't be panicking. Far from it. He's managed big clubs before, and he'll know from his time at Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich that you're never more than one game away from a crisis.

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He knows, too, that he's still on course to meet his targets this season. The 1-0 defeat Southampton inflicted at Old Trafford shouldn't stop them finishing in the Premier League's top four. And if all goes to plan, they'll beat League Two Cambridge in the FA Cup next week and book a place in the fifth round.

It's hardly time to start sharpening the axe.

But for the first time on Sunday, Van Gaal didn't look like a man firmly in control of what was happening around him.

He struggled to justify why he had left Radamel Falcao in the stands. He bristled at a question in his press conference about how much progress he's made, given that, at this stage last season, Moyes' United had the same number of points and had scored one more goal. It was one of a few questions the Dutchman did not seem to like.

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But just as the mood has changed quickly after Southampton's first win at Old Trafford since 1988—achieved without United having a shot on target—Van Gaal know it can change back just as rapidly. It's nothing that a good performance and three points against QPR at Loftus Road on Saturday won't fix. 

Van Gaal might have the same points total as Moyes did this time last year. But that's where the similarities end. United fans have every right to be disappointed about what was a pretty awful display against Southampton.

But most know they've got a man who looks and sounds like a Manchester United manager now. They never really felt like that with Moyes.

That's why they'll chant Van Gaal's name on Saturday and will continue to do so for a while yet. Still, the pressure on the United manager has increased just a little bit after the defeat to Southampton. Only ever so slightly. But it's there all the same.