Newcastle vs Manchester United preview - Carver gets Man Utd frustration - 7M sport

Newcastle vs Manchester United preview - Carver gets Man Utd frustration



Posted Tuesday, March 03, 2015 by PA

Newcastle head coach John Carver says he "understands the frustrations" of Manchester United fans over the club's style of play under Louis Van Gaal.

Discontent has not been slow to bubble during an indifferent season at Old Trafford with mounting calls for Wayne Rooney to be permanently redeployed as the club's main striker.

Rooney reminded Van Gaal of his worth up front with a brace against Newcastle's north-east rivals Sunderland on Saturday but could drop back into midfield for Wednesday night's trip to St James' Park.

Carver, who finally claimed his first home win in charge over Aston Villa at the weekend, said: "I can see why (Manchester United) fans are getting a little bit frustrated with it.

"They've seen how entertaining they have been.. and now it has changed slightly because the manager's come in and he's got a different style - it's a patient build-up with lots of possession and lots of systems which can sometimes be confusing.

"We looked at their record away from home and it's not great. They have some super players going forward but they are vulnerable in certain areas and hopefully we can exploit that."

Carver dismissed the notion that securing safety from relegation is all his side have left to play for this season and insisted they have every intention of finishing a gruelling season on a high.

The Magpies sit in 11th place in the Barclays Premier League, still five points short of the supposedly safe 40-point mark but Carver added: "Since I've had this position I've never thought about going down - only up.

"There's no way in the world I'm going to allow this club to go flat and not continue to try and get as many points on the board as we can."

Van Gaal will not be able to call upon Robin van Persie for the game at St James' Park and he is unlikely to risk Michael Carrick, even though he has overcome a calf problem and has trained with the squad this week.

"I think it is too early for Michael Carrick, he trained now three training sessions with us," said Van Gaal, who only put the midfielder on the bench for the 2-0 win over Sunderland because Phil Jones and Luke Shaw pulled out at the last minute through illness and injury respectively.

The duo are available for the Newcastle match.

Van Gaal was reluctant to say when he thought Van Persie would return from the ankle problem he suffered against Swansea 10 days ago.

"It's too early to say," Van Gaal said. "We have to wait and see. I cannot say anything about that but it is not a heavy injury."

Van Gaal thinks Manchester United fans may have to wait until next season before they see the best of Angel di Maria.

Van Gaal broke the British transfer record to sign Di Maria from Real Madrid last summer, but after a bright start his star has faded quickly.

The Argentinian has not scored in the Barclays Premier League since the first week of October and has provided eight assists despite costing the club B#59.7million.

On Saturday Di Maria put in possibly the worst performance of his career against Sunderland and he was substituted at half-time.

As Van Gaal pointed out, Di Maria is not the only player to have struggled at United this year. The Dutchman believes many of his summer signings have found it hard to hit the ground running and he believes they may all take 12 months to acclimatise to the Premier League and the surroundings.

"The first season is always difficult," the United boss said.

"You can say it to every player we have bought: (Luke) Shaw, (Daley) Blind, (Ander) Herrera, (Radamel) Falcao and also Di Maria.

"For me it is not a big surprise, it is more a big surprise (if) he (had) adapted as quickly as possible.

"In the Netherlands, Spain and Germany I had the same experience with players.

"We have to give him time, not just for him but to all the other players.

"(The time frame) is dependable on the individual as there are so many different aspects of the game, of the match but also of the culture in the country."



Attention: Third parties may advertise their products and/or services on our website.7M does not warrant the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of their contents.
Your dealings with such third parties are solely between you and such third parties and we shall not be liable in any way for any loss or damage of any sort incurred by you.