Louis van Gaal speech: Manchester United manager makes bizarre monologue - then tells audience to applaud female saxophonist

Dutchman appeared to enjoy himself at awards dinner

Louis van Gaal at Manchester United's awards evening (GETTY IMAGES)

Louis van Gaal appeared to enjoy his first Manchester United awards evening last night, taking to the stage more than once and delivering a speech described as "the greatest of all time".

In an evening when David De Gea won both the Players' Player of the Year and the Fans' Player of the Year, it was the manager that stole the show rather than the Spanish goalkeeper.

During a seven-minute rambling monologue, the eccentric Dutchman repeatedly called the Manchester United fans the "best in the world" and kept recalling United's bad start to the season during which they picked up 13 points from 10 games.

The former Bayern Munich manager also suggested his team, which he praised throughout, "could have been champions" despite trailing Chelsea by 15 points. He added that United "are very close" to the title-winning Blues.

When he recalled a team meeting with Wayne Rooney at which the captain said United could finish second, Van Gaal shouted "Yes" and punched the air.

Having already been a somewhat strange appearance from Van Gaal, it then got weirder. Host Jim Rosenthal looked to wrap up proceedings but the Manchester United manager returned to the stage, grabbed the microphone and bellowed: "Hello, hello, pay attention to the manager!"

It was at that point that he criticised the audience for not having shown their appreciation for a female saxophonist who he said had played "fantastically", before duly making them do so with a round of applause.

“I want to say something," he said. "Pay attention to the manager – Ryan Giggs said to me, and he is always right but in this case particularly right. I have said to you – you are the best fans in the world but tonight I was a little bit disappointed and I shall say why.

“I have seen a lady who plays the saxophone fantastically. Give her big applause.”

Ex-England cricket captain Michael Vaughan described Van Gaal's appearance as the "greatest speech of all time".

Earlier in the evening, Van Gaal had clipped his No 2 Ryan Giggs around the ear for outbidding him for a chance to play golf with Dwight Yorke.