Van Gaal hits out at Woodward for way Man Utd replaced him with Mourinho

LOUIS VAN GAAL has blasted Ed Woodward for leaving him a manager without “authority” before he was sacked by Manchester United.

Van Gaal is still fuming at the way United executive vice-chairman went behind his back to offer Jose Mourinho the Old Trafford job while he was still in charge.

The 67-year-old says Woodward effectively hung him out to dry by leaving him in position for six months when everyone else knew he was being sacked.

The axe finally came after he had steered United to an FA Cup win in 2016, with Mourinho appointed as his successor.

In an interview with the BBC, Van Gaal said: “I can imagine Woodward chooses Mourinho. He is a top coach. He has won a lot of titles. More than me.

“What I don’t like is Woodward contacting my successor, knowing in his mind he will replace me and he keeps his mouth shut for six months.

“Every Friday I had to go into press conferences and be asked what I thought about the rumours. What does that do to the authority of the coach?

NOT GOOD ENOUGH

“To win the FA Cup when, for six months, the media has a noose round my neck, is my biggest achievement.

“I spoke to Woodward the day after that game. His argument was that I was only going to be there for one more year and Mourinho would be there for three, four or five.

“I appreciate he hired a private plane to get me back to Portugal but his arguments were not good enough.”

Van Gaal revealed he rejected the chance to manage Tottenham in favour of taking the position at United, who had just sacked David Moyes.

But he admits he always knew it would be a tough job because of the age of the players he was inheriting.

He added: “Tottenham were a better selection because Manchester United were an old team and I knew I would have to transform them.

“Was it the wrong choice? Maybe, but I follow my heart. I worked at the number one team in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and now also in England.”

“They had seven players over 30. We spoke about that at the job interview. In my first year we qualified for the Champions League. In my second we won the FA Cup.”