At Man United under Van Gaal, ‘similarities’ with Bayern, sees Schweinsteiger

'In Munich' says Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger, 'if you remember it took a while before the team understood exactly how he wants to play football'.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal observes his side during their Champions League match against CSKA Moscow last week. Peter Powell / EPA / November 3, 2015

Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is convinced manager Louis van Gaal will bring success to the club and urged fans to show patience.

Supporters have begun to show dissent at the style of play the Dutchman has brought in at Old Trafford, and chants of “attack, attack, attack” were in evidence during Saturday’s 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Despite fans' concerns United are fourth in the Premier League, just two behind leaders and near-neighbours City, and Schweinsteiger urged them to have faith in Van Gaal's methods.

“I recognise similarities between Louis van Gaal here and at Bayern Munich,” he said.

Read more: Manchester United's young playmaker leads Richard Jolly's Premier League team of the week

“In Munich if you remember it took a while before the team understood exactly how we wants to play football, but in the end we won the Bundesliga title and made it to the Champions League final.

“It is not about October or November, it is about May.

“I remember the fans were unsure about him early on at Bayern but in the end we did the double and so the fans in Munich loved him.

“I am sure Louis will bring success to United. I am convinced about that but we have to do our work and we have to improve. I am convinced it will happen.”

While Schweinsteiger understands supporters’ frustrations, he insists the Premier League is so competitive it is not always easy to roll over teams – particularly the ones who arrive at Old Trafford with a defensive mindset.

He does accept, however, the team have to do more at home.

“You have to be patient but, of course, during that you have to win, you have to get results and you have to score,” he added.

“You recognise what the supporters are saying but football is not only attack.

“There are teams with different game styles and they also win titles but I think especially in home matches we have to press and go forward.

“When you are playing a team who defend with 10 men it is not easy to find the gaps.

“It is not exclusive to England. You have seen Bayern draw 0-0 recently against Frankfurt because Frankfurt were defending with a lot of players.

“It happens but you have to find solutions and this is where we can still improve to make it easier for ourselves.

“There is still room for improvement but we did improve on breaking a team down.”

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE