Louis van Gaal: Rotation policy is paying dividends

Man Utd 3 Sunderland 0: As a proven winner of league championships across Europe, Louis van Gaal knows what it takes to stay the course and finish on top.

He also knows his current Manchester United side is not the finished article so his muted enthusiasm at going to the head of the Premier League by beating struggling Sunderland at Old Trafford was both natural and understandable.

“I have let 20 or 25 players go. So it’s a new team,” stated Van Gaal. That said, the Dutchman also knows his new team is better and seemingly more focused than the one he tried to hastily re-build last season from the squad he inherited from David Moyes.