Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal admitted his side needs to improve and cope with the pressure of performing at Old Trafford after they scraped to a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United in the FA Cup.
Van Gaal’s side looked as though they would be taken to a third-round replay by their third division opponents before Wayne Rooney scored the winning goal with an injury-time penalty.
Before Rooney scored, after impressive substitute Memphis Depay was tripped by Dean Hammond, United were staring at a sixth 0-0 draw in their last 10 home games.
Many of the home supporters showed their frustration at the performance, as well as giving ironic cheers at belated efforts at goal and van Gaal’s final substitution of Marouane Fellaini with Andreas Pereira.
“Players for Manchester United have to cope with the pressure of the fans and the media and it’s the same for the manager,” said Van Gaal.
“It can have an influence but when you are a player for Manchester United you have to cope with that.
“It’s not only frustrating for the staff, it’s frustrating for the players, the staff and for everybody.”
Van Gaal’s side has now won back-to-back games after an eight-match winless run and will be hoping this is the start of a run that will bring them first FA Cup success since 2004.
But following another laboured attacking performance, van Gaal knows there is room for improvement.
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