Manchester United deny that Louis Van Gaal offered to quit

Louis van Gaal did not offer to resign after watching his team's latest home defeat at the hands of Southampton at the weekend, sources close to Manchester United told Reuters on Tuesday.

Britain's Guardian newspaper earlier reported that the club's executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, had persuaded the Dutchman to stay following the 1-0 defeat which resulted in fans booing the team and Van Gaal off the pitch.

Woodward told Van Gaal to speak to his family before making a decision over his future, the newspaper said. The Dutchman flew to the Netherlands on Sunday for his daughter's birthday.

Van Gaal is expected to hold fresh talks with United's hierarchy on Tuesday when he takes first-team training.

The loss to Southampton left United in fifth place in the league table, trailing leaders Leicester City by 10 points and five points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

The defeat also marked the first time this season that the increasingly impatient fans showed open dissent against the manager.

Van Gaal admitted for the first time after the game that he had failed at Old Trafford, saying he was disappointed and frustrated that he had not lived up to the fans' expectations.

Our View

This is very, very strange. One day somebody at United is giving an off-the-record briefing saying that LVG did offer his resignation; the next day, another source at the club is putting a story out saying that no such offer came.

And all the while, the club's many channels for putting out an official statement remain silent.

Where does the truth lie? It's perfectly possible that LVG might have said something to Woodward after the weekend defeat along the lines of, "You know what, if you want me to go, I'll go." That's an offer to quit - yet hardly a formal tendered resignation, officially rejected.

All this is conjecture, however, but the conflicting information coming out of Old Trafford and Carrington suggests that, as Richard Keys might have put it, there are some dark forces at work within the Red Devils.

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