Louis van Gaal Talks 'Evil' Winter Schedule, Manchester United Injuries and More

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has blamed an “evil” Premier League schedule and his own training methods for some of the team’s most recent struggles.

The Dutchman’s side have had to undertake a 3,200-mile round-trip this week due to their away fixture with CSKA Moscow in the Champions League, with the Manchester derby to come on Sunday.

And Van Gaal has claimed the convoluted fixture list over the coming months is doing little to assist players perform to their very best in the long run, per Sky Sports:

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There is no winter break and I think that is the most evil thing of this culture. It is not good for English football.

It is not good for the clubs or the national team. I think you should change it. England haven't won anything for how many years? Because all the players are exhausted at the end of the season.

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It’s certainly going to be a testing time for United. They will host Manchester City on Sunday before having to negotiate a League Cup tie with Middlesbrough on Wednesday. Then there are clashes to come against Crystal Palace and the return fixture against CSKA on the following Saturday and Tuesday, respectively.

Sky Sports News HQ took a look at the travelling the Red Devils have had to do prior to their crunch clash with City at Old Trafford:

United will still be confident going into the contest, with Van Gaal having what is close to his first XI fit. Indeed, the only first-team regular missing at the moment is long-term absentee Luke Shaw, which leaves the squad in much better shape than last season, when the Red Devils had to deal with a lot of injury issues.

According to Sky Sports, at times in his debut campaign, United had 10 first-team players on the sidelines. In the same piece, Van Gaal insists that was partly down to his own training methods, which were a little too hard on the players:

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That was my fault. I was training them harder but they were not used to training like that. 

Because I am convinced you have to train now they are used to that step. I also let go players because of that and I bought new players. I think they are more used to my training sessions. You can see that with the new players. You can see which players are always injured.

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While United are still a little light in some areas of the squad, having so many players fit will keep competitive levels high and will give Van Gaal a lot more tactical flexibility when it comes to picking his team.

One player who has benefited from that is Ander Herrera, who has performed admirably in the Red Devils’ previous two matches in an advanced midfield role.

As noted by Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News, it’s a stylistic shift that has worked very well for the Dutchman:

While Van Gaal may not enjoy the festive period, it’s a tradition that plenty involved in the game enjoy.

Indeed, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted he “would cry” should the Christmas fixture list be banished, such is it’s significance in the English game, per Hamish Mackay of the Daily Mirror. It’s something Van Gaal will simply have to get used to.

It’s the same with the compact schedule, although every top-tier side, regardless of their country, will have to cope with similar demands.

The manager may profess he likes to work with a small squad, but he’s spent a lot of money assembling it. Getting the best out of these players over a prolonged time period will be a measure of Van Gaal’s managerial acumen.