Louis van Gaal latest: Manchester United manager will 'wait and see' after defeat leaves him on the brink of the sack

Van Gaal admitted the first-half performance from his side in the 2-0 defeat by Stoke was nowhere near good enough as United slumped to a fourth straight defeat

Louis van Gaal says he will 'wait and see' if he is sacked as Manchester United manager (Getty Images)

Louis van Gaal has admitted he will have to “wait and see” over his future as Manchester United manager after witnessing his side slump to a fourth straight defeat and a seventh match without victory in the 2-0 loss to Stoke.

United have seen their Premier League title challenge fall apart after being eliminated from the Champions League at the start of the month, and the run has seen Van Gaal’s future thrown into serious doubt. Having reacted furiously to reports that he could be sacked before New Year’s Day, the latest defeat will do nothing to help convince United’s board that the Dutchman is the right man to lead the side.

As The Independent revealed last week, former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is determined to work at United should Van Gaal be sacked, and that prospect looks as likely as it ever has following the loss at the Britannia, which came after first-half goals from Bojan and Marko Arnautovic.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Van Gaal admitted: "It's more difficult because I'm also a part of the four matches that we have lost. People are looking at me and I have to deal with that, but much more important is that the players have to deal with that because they have to perform."

Asked about his future, he added: "It's another situation. We have lost the fourth game so you have to wait and see."

Van Gaal admitted that the first-half performance was nowhere near the standard he demands from his players, but while the second half was a step up, it still fell well short from where United are expected to be.

"My thoughts are that we don't dare to play football in first half. We gave a very bad goal away and then they score out of a free-kick indirect,” he said.

"At half-time we have spoken with each other and I have to say the second half was much better but still we have created one or two chances and then you have to score and then maybe the belief is coming back. In the second half we played better but the problem is we don't dare to play and that's my analysis.

"I'm always very faithful and I see also how (the players) have trained so they want to perform well but the circumstances are difficult, not only the wind but also with the pressure and that's why, in my opinion, we don't dare to play football. Second half we were in a losing position and we can give everything more easily and that we have done but then you have to score the first chance."