Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says his players will enjoy
their Christmas party after securing a nerve-jangling 2-1 victory
against Stoke City at Old Trafford.
And although Van Gaal was happy with the result - and a
fourth-successive win for his side, which closes the gap on third-placed
Southampton - he still feels there is plenty of work to do if the Old
Trafford club are to secure a top-four finish.
"In the first half
we were not aggressive enough and also we didn't keep out positions on
the pitch so I wasn't pleased at half-time," he told Sky Sports.
"I think the second half was much better. We created more chances - we scored, but we need to score more goals.
"You
know that (Peter) Crouch is coming on and the long balls are coming,
but I'm very happy that we held this result until the end.
"The
last few minutes were not necessary. We have struggled till the end and
in the Premier League it is common but I'm happy with the result. It's
our fourth victory in a row which is also important.
"I had to
select a new line-up, but I don't want to talk about the injuries. I
want to talk about the players who gave us this result. They fought
until the end.
"I'm always impressed by our performance than by the result - I'm a very crazy coach. I want a better performance.
"Against Hull City I liked our performance, but today it could have been better."
The
Dutchman confirmed that striker Wayne Rooney will have a scan on his
injury picked up against Hull at the weekend on Wednesday. He also
expects Angel di Maria to return to action against Southampton for
Monday night's crunch clash at St Mary's.
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