Louis van Gaal latest: Manchester United boss could quit before Chelsea match after another defeat at Stoke

United suffered a fourth straight defeat in all competitions to leave Van Gaal struggling to clarify his position

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal gave no assurances he would remain manager (Getty Images)

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says there is no certainty he will be manager by Monday night’s match against Chelsea at Old Trafford and raised the possibility of walking away from the club after admitting a fourth successive defeat has put him in “another situation”.

Van Gaal said he would not necessarily wait to be sacked after a first-half performance in the 2-0 defeat to Stoke City which was one of their worst in recent years. A further defeat to Chelsea is likely to bring the axe. But with the manager admitting he was powerless to deal with the fears his players felt against Stoke, there was a far greater sense iof finality and fatalism about his words last night.

United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was not at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday, though his absence was said to have been planned. United, who three weeks ago felt euphoric that Van Gaal had lifted them from David Moyes’ seventh-placed finish in the Premier League table, desperately want Van Gaal to turn this corner. But they will act if they feel he has lost the faith of the players and that the side are in freefall.

Asked how long he had left at United Van Gaal said: “That’s the question. That’s always the question. It’s another situation because we have lost the fourth job in a row. I feel the support of everyone.”

Asked if he would quit, he said: “It is not always like that, that the club has to fire or sack me. Sometimes I do it by myself. I am the one who wants to speak first with the board of Manchester United and my staff and players and not with you.”