VAN GAAL BRACED FOR NORWICH BATTLE
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal feels his team will have to produce another positive performance if the Reds are to beat battling Norwich City away on Saturday.
Unbeaten in five games, United go to Carrow Road on the back of a tough 1-1 draw with Leicester City who were crowned Barclays Premier League champions the very next day. But while the difference in fortunes between the Foxes and this weekend's opponents could not be starker, van Gaal expects there to be no let-up against Alex Neil's 19th-placed Canaries.
“It is always difficult to fight against a team who fights to maintain their place in the Premier League - that is always very difficult,” the Reds boss told journalists in his pre-match press conference.
“That is no excuse; we have to cope with that,” he added. “Norwich won at Old Trafford so we have to take revenge. It shall be a very tough game, but in spite of that we have to win.”
United's 12:45 clash at Carrow Road will be televised live in the UK, as will Leicester’s home match against Everton on Saturday evening when Claudio Ranieri's team will toast their title triumph.
The Reds delayed the Foxes' party on Sunday by holding them to the same scoreline, 1-1, that was played out at the King Power Stadium back in November. At that time, United were only one point behind the eventual title winners; the gap grew when van Gaal's squad was beset by injuries in December. But however damaging the absence of his players may have been, the boss did not want to take anything away from Leicester’s incredible accomplishment when he spoke about it for the first time on Thursday.
“I have great respect for the champions Leicester City who deserved their league win,” said van Gaal.
“You cannot say that if we didn’t have our injuries then we would have been first. No, this would be disrespectful to the champions who totally deserve it in my eyes.”
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