Manchester United: Louis van Gaal reveals decision on club future after failing to qualify for Champions League

Louis van Gaal is confident that he will be back at Manchester United next season despite uncertainty surrounding his future at the club following a disappointing campaign, which still can be slightly salvaged with a win in the FA Cup finals against Crystal Palace on Saturday (18 May). The Dutch manager has come under tremendous pressure during the course of the season, and there will be further speculation regarding his future after the Red Devils failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.

Jose Mourinho has been the favourite to take over the reins at Old Trafford ahead of next season, but the Portuguese boss has admitted that he does not have any agreement with United, but is keen to return to management next season following his dismissal from Chelsea midway through the 2015/16 campaign. Van Gaal was subjected to boos during his speech after their final game of the season against Bournemouth on Tuesday (17 May), but turned them into applause at the end of his address to the fans.

The former Bayern Munich manager is contracted to the club until the summer of 2017, and made it clear that he is will see out his final year at the club. The Dutchman has blamed lack of creativity and attacking edge for his team's poor campaign and hinted that it will be the priority when he plans his summer rebuild, with the aim of returning to the Champions League.

"Yes," Van Gaal said when asked about remaining at Old Trafford next season, and when pushed about why he was so confident, he answered: "Because I have signed a three-year contract," as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

"Our aim in the first year and also the second and the third shall be Champions League. It is the highest level and a club like Manchester United has to play at that level but there are more clubs that want to play at that level and you have seen that."

"We need luck and I cannot say we had too much luck this season. That is not the only reason. We did not create too much. Defensively we are one of the best teams in the Premier League but attacking-wise we have to improve," the Dutch coach explained.