United manager van Gaal wants players to be 'horny'

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has asked his players to be "horny" in order to show more passion when they lock horns against FC Midtylland in a Europa League clash here on Friday.

A successful campaign in the Europa League is United's best hope of securing Champions League qualification next season. But United's 1-2 loss to the Danish outfit in the first leg means that they face a must win situation in the second leg.

Adressing the media before the game, van Gaal -- who is not very fluent in English -- struggled to translate the Dutch word for passion while attempting to describe the qualities his team will need to succeed.

"Desire is a good word ... hunger. A lot of times I use the word 'horny'," van Gaal was quoted as saying by the British media on Thursday when asked what he wanted from his players.

United is not having the best of seasons in the English Premier League either. They lost 1-2 to Sunderland in their last game. They are 12 points adrift of league leaders Leicester City and the team have received a lot of criticisms in the last few weeks.

"There is a lot of criticism," van Gaal said. "The players have to use their tools to ignore it. It should not be an influencing subject."

Danish champions Midtjylland were only formed in 1999 and are in their 10th season of European football.

"Coming to Old Trafford is the match of their lives," said van Gaal. "I was not a great player, but I was always at my best in a full stadium."