Louis van Gaal feels that Manchester United are missing the test of Champions League football this season.
David Moyes’s reign at Old Trafford resulted in the most successful Premier League side missing out on European football altogether this season and new boss Louis Van Gaal believes that the club is suffering as a whole from not being tested by European opposition.
“I had a philosophy when I was a technical director of the Dutch Football Federation, I gave structure to the youth education, that the younger players have to play against the better players,” he told reporters.
“Then you get development of your players because they are playing better opponents. The chance is better for the players then, especially the youngsters. I think, when you are in the Champions League and it’s going well and you beat opponents, you’re getting in a flow and then it’s not so bad to play all the matches.
“Maybe in my first year here I will have more chances to train with my players. That’s probably better than all the matches, maybe, but at the end of this it’s always better to play in the Champions League and all the cups and play all the matches, because you can compare yourself with higher-level opponents.”