Van Gaal happy to bypass Tottenham for United

Louis van Gaal said he does not regret rejecting Tottenham for Manchester United despite a difficult start to life in the Premier League.

Van Gaal was poised to become Tottenham manager following discussions with Daniel Levy last season, only for United to sack David Moyes and prise the Dutchman to Old Trafford.

The former Netherlands boss has endured a rocky beginning to his United tenure as he attempts to rebuild the club, with an opening-round loss and back-to-back draws in United’s first three Premier League games.

United were also routed 4-0 by League One outfit MK Dons in the second round of the Capital One Cup.

While Van Gaal admitted he has a sizeable task ahead of him, the 62-year-old is happy to have bypassed the “easier” option that would have been presented to him at White Hart Lane, in favour of a more superior club.

“No, I don’t regret taking this job,” Van Gaal told the Mirror. “Yes, it is a massive job I have taken on at Manchester United. I realise that.

“And the situation is not worse than I thought – I knew what I would find on my plate.

“I could have opted for an easier job. If I had gone to Tottenham, the job would not have been as enormous as here at United.

“I could have easily gone to Spurs. But I chose the biggest challenge of all the jobs in football. And I really wanted to join the number one club in the country, not Tottenham.

“Financially, Tottenham was kind of as attractive as Man United. But, in my eyes, Man United is still the number one club in England, Tottenham really is not.”