London - As Manchester United were absorbing confirmation of Pep Guardiola’s arrival across town, Sir Alex Ferguson on Monday night gathered together the staff who contributed to his success during 26 years at the club for a reunion dinner.
If that glorious past seems far too distant for United supporters right now, they could be forgiven for approaching a future with Guardiola in charge of neighbours Manchester City with some trepidation.
For their manager Louis van Gaal, meanwhile, enough problems exist in the present.
The Dutchman returns to the Old Trafford dugout as United take on Stoke tonight only 10 days after he was hounded down the tunnel by the boos and catcalls of his own fans following a 1-0 home defeat by Southampton.
It was by far the strongest show of dissent in a season in which unrest among United supporters over poor results and stupefying performances has grown steadily.
Van Gaal’s skin is pretty thick and he has claimed in recent days that ‘it is not important if they yell at me’.
But having also admitted that he ‘cannot predict the atmosphere’ on Tuesday night, it did not go unnoticed at Carrington on Monday that the manager’s mood and body language had changed since Friday’s FA Cup win at Derby County lifted some of the pressure on his shoulders.
‘You can see he’s tense ahead of the game wondering what the fans’ reaction is going to be,’ one source told Sportsmail. ‘The players pick up on that kind of thing.’
Certainly the fortress that Ferguson built with the help of many of the staff who joined him at Puccini’s Italian restaurant in Swinton on Monday night has become a far less secure environment for Van Gaal.
It does not help that United face a Stoke side who spoiled his Christmas with a richly deserved 2-0 win at the Britannia Stadium on Boxing Day, plunging the 64-year-old’s future at United into doubt.
Stoke’s record at Old Trafford is poor. They have lost all seven games there in the Premier League, and have just gone out of both cup competitions in the space of four days as well.
But the Potters are a different proposition under former United favourite Mark Hughes and Van Gaal is well aware of the problems they could pose to a team who have lost their confidence and swagger at home this season.
‘Stoke are a team that every club in the Premier League has a lot of difficulties with,’ he acknowledged. Matteo Darmian could make a surprise return to the squad after recovering from bruised ribs but Van Gaal is still hampered by injuries.
Even so, Juan Mata, whose late goal completed the 3-1 victory at Derby, believes United can draw confidence from the result and performance against the Championship side as they look to hit a run of consistent form in February.
‘It was a very positive win with a more dynamic, fluid style that we hope to maintain from now on,’ said Mata.
‘This is a very busy month with seven games and our aim is to try to win them all, starting with Stoke.’
Daily Mail