Louis van Gaal assistant claims he was 'fully in charge' of Manchester United when Dutchman was boss

Albert Stuivenberg could face United in the Europa League with his Genk side

Manager Louis van Gaal and Assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg of Manchester United (John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images)

A former assistant of Louis van Gaal’s has claimed that he was “fully in charge” at Manchester United at Manchester United while the Dutchman was manager.

Albert Stuivenberg was brought to Old Trafford as Van Gaal’s assistant, alongside Ryan Giggs, after fulfilling the same role with the Netherlands.

Stuivenberg is now manager at Belgian club Genk and said that Van Gaal getting him to carry out team talks and first-team training has set him in good stead for his career.

“He gave me his complete trust,” he said.

“At United, I was doing the training sessions for the selected first team before games. I was fully in charge.

“I was doing all the pre-match team talks, and I did the post-match talk with the team and individual players.”

Stuivenberg is preparing his Genk side to face Gent in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday and, should they progress, the he has set his sights on facing his former club later in the competition.

However, he insisted he was thankful to Van Gaal for what he did for him, as Stuivenberg had never previously worked as a coach at club level.

Stuivenberg was axed along with the rest of Van Gaal's staff after the FA Cup victory last season (Getty)

“Louis gave me the opportunity to develop myself at the top level and lead in so many ways,” he added.

“Why do I rate Van Gaal? Because he’s a man who can judge if you have quality or not.

“We had a great rapport when we worked together for the Dutch FA when Louis was national coach and I was coach of the Under-21 side.

“From there, Louis decided to take me to United. I consider that a major compliment, because Van Gaal was someone who had made his mark in the world of international football.”