Robin Van Persie Can Only Earn New Man Utd Deal by Rediscovering Scoring Touch

There were two key points to come out of Robin van Persie's interview this week. First, his admission that he's not scored enough goals this season. And second, that he's not sure what his future holds beyond the end of next season when his contract at Manchester United runs out.

But it won't have escaped Van Persie that the two things are linked. It's normal for a player of his talent to be disappointed about scoring just eight goals in 17 games this season. You'd be worried if he wasn't.

In two of the last three seasons, he got 30 or more. He managed 18 last season despite losing most of it to injury. He's a personal favourite of Louis van Gaal, who made him captain to the Netherlands at the World Cup.

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But Van Gaal is also a ruthless operator who has little time for sentiment, and Van Persie's contract at Old Trafford is due to expire at the end of next season. The equation is fairly simple. If Van Persie scores regularly for the next 18 months, he'll be offered a new deal. But if he doesn't, it's unlikely. United and Van Gaal haven't got time to employ strikers who don't score.

Van Persie, though, isn't the only one who should be disappointed with his goals tally. United have managed only five in their last six games, a run that has included blanks against Tottenham, Southampton and League Two Cambridge United. 

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It's led to accusations from some fans that Van Gaal isn't sending his team out to win games but is just hoping not to lose. It's been a sharp turnaround after the criticism aimed at the defence in the first few months of the season. With Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao arriving in the summer, the attack was supposed to be the one area of the squad that was adequately staffed.

United and Van Persie head into the second half of the season with a common goal. To put it bluntly, to score more of them. Van Gaal needs to devise a way of covering up the weaknesses at the back while still playing entertaining, attacking football.

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If not, the fans will grow even more frustrated and a top-four finish will start to look like a tough task rather than the dead cert it did before Christmas. 

For Van Persie, the consequences of failing to find the net regularly are just as serious. Van Gaal is building a team to win the Premier League and Champions League. And there can't be any passengers, even if Van Persie is a personal friend.

He'll be a couple of months shy of his 33rd birthday when his contract expires in 2016. He's got much to do to prove he deserves a new one.