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| Marcus Rashford has burst on to the scene at Old Trafford |
Louis van Gaal has
rejected the notion that Marcus Rashford saved his job, instead saying the
teenager epitomizes the trust in young players that Manchester United fans
should be thanking him for.
Press
Association report continues:
There
have been plenty of peaks and troughs at Old Trafford this season, with the
18-year-old's remarkable breakthrough certainly fitting into the former
category.
Thrown
in against FC Midtjylland after a warm-up injury to Anthony Martial, Rashford
netted a brace to help United win that do-or-die Europa League clash.
Another
double a few days later in the 3-2 victory over Arsenal increased the feel-good
factor and alleviated the pressure mounting on manager Van Gaal.
Talk
of Jose Mourinho replacing him has quietened, if not disappeared, since
Rashford burst on to the scene, but the Dutchman was clearly irked by
suggestions the teenager saved his job.
"(The
young players) want to prove and they want to show to the world, to the
manager, to everybody, that they are the best, so they always give spirit to a
team," Van Gaal said.
"That
is why we have decided not to invest in January and I have said that already
two months ago, but you don't want to believe it. The policy is to have a small
selection and then you can give youngsters a chance.
"Now
I have read that Rashford is saving me. No, no, Rashford is thanks to my
policy, and the club, of course, (and he) has proved that.
"He
is there because of that and the same thing for (Cameron) Borthwick-Jackson,
(Guillermo) Varela and a lot of other players.
"But
they have to prove it because it is very risky to do that. Youngsters are not
consistent, we are talking about consistency.
"There
are of course exceptions like Martial, but that is a big exception.
"Most
of the players cannot show that every week, so it is a big risk, but, at the
end, we are in three competitions still and the team has more spirit and the
older players are coming back.
"So
we have a great momentum at this moment because we have discovered that a lot
of players can play at this level and the older players have to compete with
these youngsters.
"And
it's fantastic and that is also what I have experienced at my other teams, so I
think it's always good to have youngsters in your selection."
That
injection of youth certainly looks to be paying dividends, given United head to
West Brom on Sunday looking to extend their winning run to a fifth successive
match.
Van
Gaal's men need three points to keep the pressure on fourth-placed Manchester
City, who head into the weekend with a game in hand but level on points with
their rivals.
It
now makes qualifying for the Champions League via the Barclays Premier League a
genuine possibility, which would no doubt make it easier to attract players to
Old Trafford this summer.
Whether
Van Gaal is still in charge at that point remains to be seen, but the
Dutchman's suggestion that the club's young players can use the rest of the
campaign to disprove the need for reinforcements should get a positive
response.
"Of
course, yes," he said when asked if their emergence could affect his
transfer policy. "Also in January that we took the risk for the left-back
position that we didn't buy.
"We
needed a left-back and we inquired about a lot of players. Some have said it
now.
"It
is always the agent that is doing that because it is interesting Man United is
inquiring, but we said, 'Okay, maybe Borthwick-Jackson and Varela can do the
job'.
"There was Spanish
interest in Varela and we said no because of that."
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