'Fearsome' Van Gaal touts himself as 'democratic' manager

Manchester United new boss Louis van Gaal has described himself as a democratic manager in his first news conference as the club's manager.

Van Gaal, who was appointed in May but was with the Netherlands at the World Cup until last weekend, arrived at Old Trafford with a reputation of being a fearsome individual.

But Van Gaal countered that he is democratic, empathetic to human beings and said that he has a strong personality, but the other characteristics are more important, The BBC reported.

The Dutchman branded speculation over his management style as unfair, saying that the media wants to show that part of the personality, because when one repeats that, everybody thinks like that.

Van Gaal, who also revealed that midfielder Michael Carrick had been injured in training this week, tagged United as the biggest club in the world.

The Dutchman plans on watching how the current squad performs over the next three or four weeks before he decides on any additional signings, the report added.