Van Gaal: United cannot afford another loss

Louis van Gaal admitted Manchester United cannot afford to lose another match as the club’s underwhelming season comes to an end.

Despite a mixed bag of performances, United remain in contention for Champions League qualification and have a date with Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final to ensure the campaign does not end emptyhanded.

United are four points off fourth-placed Manchester City, with a game in hand and three games to play.

Saturday’s fixture against Norwich City is the first of three must-win league games, ahead of an away trip to fifth-placed West Ham and then at home to AFC Bournemouth.

United’s top-four rivals City take on third-placed Arsenal, who Van Gaal will be hoping take some points off their cross-town rivals.

But the Dutchman remains focused on his own team, conceding another loss this season would be tough to recover from.

“In sport you can win and lose. It’s hard to accept, but it’s the truth. But every game we have to win,” he said.

“The pressure is high for everybody, but also for Norwich, because they have to win also, otherwise they can say goodbye to the Premier League.

“I want to win also the FA Cup, not only achieve qualification [for the Champions League].

“I want to win also the title, because I think the FA Cup is a very important title in England.”

United have not won three consecutive league games since September, but Van Gaal has backed his men to do just that when it counts in May.

“We’re always able to do that,” said Van Gaal. “I don’t know if we did that in September, October or November, but we are always able to do that, because of our quality.

“And quality is not only mental strength, it’s also quality as a player, as a team.

“Now we have to qualify ourselves [for the Champions League] and then we have to fight for the FA Cup, a very important title for Manchester United but also for all the fans in the world.”