Van Gaal admits he's struggling to motivate Man Utd

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has admitted that he is running out of new ways to motivate his players' mentality following their recent slump in form in the Premier League.

Pressure mounted on United after they suffered their fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of Stoke City in their league clash on Saturday.

"It is not so easy anymore, and after you lose four matches in a row it is much more difficult after the third match. It's like that, and the pressure of the environment shall increase so it is much more difficult," Van Gaal was quoted as saying by goal.com.

The 64-year-old Dutchman called on his side to do their professional work and prepare well before heading into their next match against Chelsea on Monday.

"So I know there are no artificial ways to solve that, we need a victory and that's very important. But we have to do also our professional work, the preparation and of course also the recovery and the training sessions, he added.

Following his side's repeated poor performances, speculations began to emerge that Chelsea's sacked manager Jose Mourinho could replace the Dutchman if United suffered another defeat.

United's slump in form is evident in their poor display as they have collected only three victories in their last 14 matches and scored just 11 goals in the process.