Van Gaal is a 'process' manager who always starts slowly and history shows he'll turn United back into winners... eventually!

In the grim aftermath of Manchester United's mauling in Milton Keynes, Louis van Gaal was asked by a reporter whether the manner of his side's capitulation had shocked him.

'I am not shocked,' came the stern response, delivered with an uncompromising eye-lock glare.

Van Gaal genuinely wasn't shocked, and nor was he especially worried, since the experience of his coaching career has taught him that in order to achieve success, you must first work through the 'process.'

 

He said as much on Tuesday night: 'We have to see in the process, that's what I'm saying. The process needs time. We are building up a team and you cannot make it in one month.'

The Dutchman is a notoriously slow starter in new jobs and new seasons. What we saw at Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich, we are currently seeing at United.

In fact, he is such a slow starter that the superb form seen on United's pre-season tour of the United States seemed too good to be true.

And so it has proved, with United collecting just one point from a possible six in the Premier League and exiting the League Cup before the point they would normally enter it.

But United fans should not be concerned. It will be all right in the end, as a glance back at Van Gaal's career proves.

When he arrived at Bayern Munich in 2009, Van Gaal described them as his 'dream club' but things soon turned into a bit of a nightmare.

They started with back-to-back draws against Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen before slumping to defeat at Mainz. They won only five of their opening 13 matches and by the end of November they were 8th.