Manchester United should be in the top two... Louis van Gaal can't complain after summer spending, insists new Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat

Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat will not come up against old adversary Louis van Gaal during the final nine matches of the Premier League season.

It is thought the Dutch pair - who famously posed with models painted in their clubs' respective strips during the 1995-96 Eredivisie season - have a good relationship despite a rivalry which dates back to the mid-Nineties when Advocaat’s PSV and Van Gaal’s Ajax were vying for domestic honours.

But the new Black Cats coach has had his say on his compatriot’s first season at Manchester United.

Speaking on Studio Voetbal in Holland last month, Advocaat said: ‘Firstly, let’s be clear, Louis is a fantastic coach.

‘But after spending €200m in the summer, he should not be complaining and should have made sure that his team were in the top two.

‘And it hasn’t happened.’

It was Advocaat who replaced Van Gaal as national-team boss when Holland failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2002, subsequently guiding them to the semi-finals of Euro 2004.

But it is the Old Trafford chief who has the edge when it comes to silverware in their homeland.

Van Gaal has four titles and one Dutch cup, while Advocaat has just one league crown and one cup success. They have each won the Johan Cruyff Shield three times.