Louis van Gaal has dismissed the notion that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has got Manchester United playing like they did under Sir Alex Ferguson – claiming the Norweigan ‘parks the bus’ just like Jose Mourinho.
The Dutchman, who recently called time on his coaching career after 30 years of management, believes Solskjaer’s tactics have striking resemblances to his successor’s at Old Trafford.
Speaking to the BBC, the 67-year-old said: “The coach after me [Mourinho] changed to park the bus tactics and played on the counter. Now there is another coach who parks the bus and plays on the counter.
“The main difference between Mourinho and Solskjaer is that Solskjaer is winning.
“It is also true that Solskjaer has changed Paul Pogba’s position and put him into an area where he is much more important.
“But the way Manchester United are playing now is not the way Ferguson played. It is defensive, counter-attacking football. If you like it, you like it.
“If you think it is more exciting than my boring attacking, OK. But it is not my truth.
“They can also win the Champions League because they play a defensive system and it is very difficult to beat them, which, whether you like it or not, is the result of Mourinho’s work.”
Mourinho was criticised for several reasons during his stint in charge of the Red Devils – and one of them was his failure to bring enough academy graduates into the first team.
And the Portuguese recently said Van Gaal, who brought forward Marcus Rashford through the ranks, only did so because he was in a desperate situation.
But Van Gaal was defiant over the claims, saying: “I read something from Mourinho saying I only did that out of necessity. Not true. I created the necessity.
“Manchester United had over 30 players. I brought them back to 23. Then I had an open selection for the youth academy. I did that at every club.
“That is why a lot of young players have made their debuts with me.
“A lot of trainers, like Mourinho, never give youngsters a chance. Yes, five minutes. Solskjaer, 10 minutes. That is not a chance. A chance is a game.”
Solskjaer has won 14 of his 19 games as caretaker since replacing the sacked Mourinho in December and he is reportedly set to be named permanent manager this week.