Louis van Gaal on the verge

Stoke 2 Man United 0: LOUIS VAN GAAL had better brace himself — and his family — for a torrent of further speculation about his Manchester United future after a fourth successive defeat in all competitions pushed him to the edge of the precipice.

Van Gaal looked like a condemned man as United were undone by goals from Stoke’s Spanish star Bojan and Marko Arnautovic and had to withstand chants of “Jose Mourinho” ringing around the Britannia Stadium in the closing stages.

United’s under-fire manager had labelled this a “must-win” match, but his side never looked like producing a performance that would ease the pressure on him after he had controversially relegated Wayne Rooney to the substitute’s bench.