United management after me and I was under tremendous pressure: Van Gaal

Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal on Sunday said the management was after him to produce results and he was under a lot of pressure to deliver.

"They told me only after it (his sacking) was leaked out, it was the biggest disappointment of my life," Van Gaal told Algemeen Dagblad.

"The pressure was enormous with my head in the noose and they went right behind my back," the Dutch added.

The Dutchman was shown the door by United just two days after winning the English FA Cup in 2016. Portuguese Jose Mourinho replaced him.

Under Van Gaal, United failed to qualify for the Champions League finishing fifth in the 2015-16 campaign.

"I think it was all orchestrated like a film and it was done very much behind my back right from January (2016). United put my head in a noose and I was publicly placed on the gallows," he alleged.

"If they had come to me with the Mourinho plan then I could have said, 'OK, let's give it everything for the last six months, complete commitment to each other and the team and then Jose Mourinho can take over. They could have saved the last year of my salary by doing that but after what happened I made them pay every penny," Van Gaal added.

--IANS

dm/sam/dg