Manchester United: Louis van Gaal hopeful of keeping his place as manager next season

Louis van Gaal is set to extend his stay at Old Trafford beyond the end of the season as he expects the board to keep faith in him, even if he fails to deliver a Champions League spot. The Red Devils are currently in fifth spot, a point adrift of Manchester City, which they hope to close down by the end of this season.

The Mirror reports that the upper management have reportedly lent a sympathetic ear to Van Gaal's problems this season, especially with a myriad of injuries stunting their season. The Red Devils have been without the likes of Luke Shaw for the major part of the campaign, as the England international had a double fracture in his right leg from a tackle suffered in their first group game of the Champions League against PSV Eindoven.

Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Wayne Rooney and Bastian Schweinsteiger are the few others who have been in and out of the squad through injury, something which Van Gaal insists was beyond his control. The Dutchman has only a year left in his current contract and wants to complete his tenure at Old Trafford before moving on to his next challenge. Jose Mourinho is in line to replace the former Barcelona manager and is reported to have already made a gentleman's agreement with chief executive Ed Woodward.

Sir Alex Ferguson has publicly defended the manager, which has bolstered his belief, and Van Gaal believes that the emergence of young players by the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Timothy Fosu-Mensah is something that can be attributed to his interest in promoting the youth system. Rashford has been the find of the season for the Red Devils, with the striker scoring a brace against Arsenal to win the game and followed that up with another winner against Manchester City.

Van Gaal believes that United can end the season with a trophy, with the Red Devils still active in the FA Cup, for which they travel to West Ham in a quarter-final replay on 13 April.