Louis van Gaal accepts Man United no longer have any margin for error

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal accepts he “cannot afford” to lose any of the club’s four remaining fixtures this season.

It has been another rocky campaign at Old Trafford but there remains the outside shot at redemption if they can put together a flawless run-in.

Maximum points against Norwich, West Ham and Bournemouth could give the Red Devils a chance of leapfrogging neighbours Manchester City into the Premier League’s top four, with Crystal Palace waiting in the FA Cup final after that.

A Champions League spot and a first piece of major silverware since Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 would ease some of the pressure on Van Gaal, meaning the stakes are high at Carrow Road in today’s early kick off.

Asked to ponder the implications of falling short, he said: “I cannot afford it and Manchester United cannot afford it, but in sport you can win and lose. It’s hard to accept, but it is the truth.

“We have to win our matches because otherwise we cannot be in the first four — that’s the pressure that we have. We have to fight until the end.

“We are always able to do that, I think, that’s my belief, because of our quality.

“I want to win the (FA Cup) also, not only the (Champions League) qualification, because I think the FA Cup is a very important title in England. The pressure is high for everybody.”

The Canaries’ plight at the foot of the table, where they are battling to avoid joining Aston Villa in the Championship, adds an extra element to the fixture. So too does the fact that they won the previous meeting 2-1 at Old Trafford, arguably the high point of their campaign.

That result, which came in the midst of United’s bleak and winless December, has not escaped Van Gaal’s attention either. “They won at Old Trafford, so we have to take revenge,” he said. “It’s always difficult to fight against a team that fights to maintain their position in the Premier League from relegation. That’s always very difficult to fight against, but that is not an excuse. We have to cope with that. It shall be a very tough game but in spite of that we have to win.”

Norwich manager Alex Neil is confident his players are ready. Neil said: “This is certainly the biggest game of our lives at the moment because it is the most relevant for us and is going to shape the future for us going forward.”