Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United pledge

Louis van Gaal has vowed to walk away from Manchester United if he loses the dressing room.

And his chances of coming through a crunch week unscathed have been dealt a blow with the news Wayne Rooney will be missing for today’s game against West Ham and United’s crucial match in Wolfsburg three days later.

The only way United can guarantee their place in the knockout stages on Tuesday is if they win at the Wolfsburg Arena.

Should Van Gaal’s men drop into the Europa League after being handed a relatively easy Champions League group, it will come as a big blow to the Dutchman’s credibility.

United may be third in the Premier League, but some supporters are not happy with the often dull style of play under the 64-year-old and rumours persist of unrest within the squad.

Van Gaal insists he has a good relationship with his players, but should that change, he will leave his post.

“The most important thing is the chemistry between players and staff,” Van Gaal said.

“And when I have the feeling that the chemistry is there, I will always work to my utmost best.

“But when I have a single feeling that it is not like that, I’m the first coach that quits and I have proved that already with my former clubs and former jobs.”

As Van Gaal pointed out, he has walked away from clubs of his own accord during his 24-year management career.

After falling out with a number of players, Van Gaal walked away from Barcelona during his second spell at the club and he left his role as Ajax technical director following a power struggle with then manager Ronald Koeman.

Van Gaal also threatened to walk away from AZ Alkmaar in 2008 after finishing 11th in the Eredivisie, but was persuaded to stay on and led the club to the title the following year. And despite supporter opposition at some of his former clubs, Van Gaal believes he is still highly regarded wherever he has been.

“I’m happy that when I’m gone, people are saying nice things about me,” he said.

Rooney may not be enjoying his best season at United — he has scored just two Premier League goals — but a man of his experience will be missed in Wolfsburg next Tuesday.

“It’s a nasty injury,’’ the United manager said of Rooney, who has played 499 times for the club.

“’He shall not play his 500th game (on Saturday) because he is more injured than I thought. His ankle is not good enough and we have to recover that ankle with a lot of strength. He has to do a lot of exercises to make his ankle stronger.

“He needs more time.”

When asked if Rooney would miss the match at Wolfsburg, Van Gaal said: “Yes, I think so.”

Marcos Rojo is out for a number of weeks after dislocating his shoulder, while Ander Herrera and Phil Jones have not overcome the hamstring and ankle injuries they suffered at Watford a fortnight ago.

Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia are also sidelined by their long-term injuries. But Van Gaal is not sure whether he will be dipping into the transfer market next month.

“We are looking (to sign players) but it is not so easy to buy and in January it’s more difficult,” he said

“We are looking but it is not that it is for sure.”

Meanwhile West Ham boss Slaven Bilic insists United are anything but boring. Bilic, who takes West Ham to Old Trafford to face United today, said: “I don’t find them boring.

“I have watched many games — they are always on television — and in every game, they have more chances than the opponent. In every game, they have more possession and in every game the opponent only has one or two chances.

“They are different from the Sir Alex Ferguson era when — especially at home — they were more electric, they were quicker, playing around the box and in the box.

“But narrow victories are still victories. They are not conceding goals. Some people say they are boring, I heard it many times. They are having the ball, they are not giving you the ball and defending.

“They have possession, they are controlling the game and they are trying to win every game so you can say that they are different from before, especially at home when the other teams are defending with numbers behind the ball.

“You can’t play quicker because you need gaps and space behind the opponent. For them, it is hard to find. So we can call it controlled football, patient football, but it is so far very effective because they are sitting well in the table.”

Andy Carroll is set to start in attack for the Hammers after Diafra Sakho was ruled out for three months with a thigh injury which requires surgery.