Juan Mata has revealed in an interview that Manchester United players now understand the philosophy that Louis van Gaal has implemented at United,. He also believes that the players also now know what exactly Van Gaal is asking from them on the pitch.
Everyone has been saying that Van Gaal's methods are not getting across to the players properly, but Mata has said that he is confident now that the Red Devils are comfortable with the the Dutchman's ways; a point that is reflected in United sitting top of the Premier League.
Mata says Van Gaal is different compared to any other manager hes played for
Mata said "every manager has his own way to work" but with Van Gaal "it's different than with any other manager". The Spaniard detailed that it is shown in the way he prepares his teams to go out on the pitch and perform.
Mata continued, admitting that when Van Gaal arrived "it was going to be difficult, especially at the beginning". However, Mata now thinks it is "about time" and "is getting used to his technical way of working". There are many aspects of his coaching to get used to including, "the number of meetings, the training and games".
He believes United now understand Van Gaal
"This is now our second year with Van Gaal in charge, so it's normal and logical that were understanding each other better," said Mata about how the players are getting to know their managers' methods better.
Mata admitted that the third goal that United scored against Southampton last weekend was the perfect example of the possession based game that Van Gaal has tried to get his players to do on the pitch. Afterwards, the manager was pleased that it worked out how he'd planned.
Mata remained honest, "If you're losing you can't do that all the time, because maybe you don't score." He believes it all "depends on the situation" of the game and it suited United perfectly to just keep passing against the Saints.