Louis van Gaal Reportedly Gives Unity Speech at Manchester United Christmas Meal

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal reportedly gave his team an inspirational speech during the squad's annual Christmas lunch, and he is said to have received a hugely positive reception.

Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail reported the under-pressure Dutchman prompted “universal applause” for his words, with the narrative being: “We are Manchester United and we will survive—but we have to stick together.” The speech is said to have taken place at the Red Devils’ Carrington training complex in front of around 200 people.

Van Gaal is in a precarious position at the moment, as United's disappointing run of form recently culminated in a shock 2-1 loss at home to Norwich City.

After being dumped out of the Champions League the week before, seeing United slip out of the Premier League’s top four spots was enough for some fans to finally lose faith in the manager.

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As noted by Simon Stone of BBC Sport, there were pockets of supporters who really made their frustrations known to Van Gaal after their last outing:

There have been reports throughout the season that the Dutchman is losing a grip on his players too. James Ducker wrote in the Times earlier this month that portions of the squad have been left frustrated at some of his regimented training methods and tactical decisions.

Going off Wheeler’s report, there does still seem to be some goodwill toward the manager, though. Van Gaal has proved previously he is a fine orator, with a memorable speech at the club’s annual awards last season, and it seems as though he’s pepped up spirits with his latest address. 

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However, it’s performances on the pitch that’ll reveal most about how the players feel about their manager, especially with United reportedly already in touch with Jose Mourinho’s representatives about taking the job on, per Wheeler.

Paul Hayward of the Daily Telegraph is intrigued to see how the Red Devils perform over the festive period as a result:

Even if United, triggered by this passionate speech from Van Gaal, were to improve over the Christmas period, the long-term concerns would not be totally dispelled.

The squad that Van Gaal has assembled after some mass spending remains massively imbalanced. In addition, the style of football that United have played for much of the season has been dreary, leading to prior unrest among some supporters even when the team was grinding out wins.

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However, as Seb Stafford-Bloor of uMAXit notes, footballing aesthetics are unlikely to be addressed by appointing Mourinho:

Perhaps the passionate nature of Van Gaal’s speech is a reflection of his current predicament. At the moment, United seem on a treacherous downward slide, and with his credentials to manage this team increasingly called into question, perhaps the Dutchman decided to let his guard down temporarily in an impassioned address.

It’s going to take much more than a few stirring words to galvanise United, though. Typically, once managers find themselves in this position, it’s difficult to arrest faith seeping away from players, supporters and the club’s hierarchy.

Still, Van Gaal will be clinging to the hope that this speech can trigger some necessary improvements.