LONDON: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has warned his new Manchester United counterpart Louis van Gaal that the competitiveness of the Premier League will be like nothing he has experienced before.
Van Gaal has won titles in Holland, Spain and Germany and made an impressive start to his United career, leading them to victory over Liverpool in the final of the International Champions Cup pre-season tournament.
But for all the 62-year-old’s achievements, which include Champions League success with Ajax in 1995, Rodgers thinks he will be in for a shock when the Premier League kicks off on August 16.
“I think what he’ll find is the competition in this league will be different to any other league that he’s worked in,” Rodgers said.
“In a lot of the other leagues, there are one or two teams and those are the teams that are expected to win. This is a league where the top team plays the bottom team and on any given day, you can lose.
“You don’t get that a lot in the other leagues. I think the competition will probably take him by (surprise), and that’s from foreign managers I have spoken to over the years.”
Rodgers also spoke of his admiration for the Dutchman, who steered the Netherlands to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Brazil.
“I’m obviously an admirer of his work and his career,” the Northern Irishman added. “He’s a very experienced manager and a very good manager who has worked at some big clubs.
“When you come through as a coach, you look at the guys who have a vision and a philosophy, and he was obviously one of those guys.”
At the same time United’s Spanish midfielder Juan Mata says the team have shown during their pre-season tour of the United States that they believe in the new system introduced by Van Gaal.
“It was a good tour for us, a good two or three weeks trying to get ready physically and mentally while trying to adapt to the new system,” Mata told ManUtd.com. “Obviously, we didn’t lose a game, which is good for the confidence, but the most important thing is that we believe in what we are doing.”
Van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation has seen Mata employed in an advanced playmaker role and that appears to suit him well.
“I feel good and I feel comfortable in this position. I have to do what the manager wants me to do, both offensively and defensively, and I am trying to do that. It can be a good position for me to try to perform to my best,” he said. – Sapa-AFP