Having spent 14 months and nearly £300million at Manchester United, Louis van Gaal returned to Holland last night and admitted that he has no idea if his team are good enough to compete for the Champions League title.
Despite restoring United to Europe's elite after a year in exile, Van Gaal is unsure whether his squad can be considered serious contenders for a trophy he won here with Ajax two decades ago.
United open their Group B campaign tonight against PSV Eindhoven in the Philips Stadion, where Van Gaal was asked what supporters can expect from their team in Europe. 'The fans will see a Manchester United side who fight for their chances,' he responded.
'We have to show on the pitch if we are able to win matches at the highest level. That's the challenge for us now. We have to show if we are able to play at this level. I don't know (the answer). We have to wait and see because the Champions League is a higher level than the Premier League.'
Van Gaal's caution is well-founded considering his track record here. He won only two of his 10 league games at this ground as coach of Ajax and AZ Alkmaar.
Perhaps more worryingly for United, his star-studded Barcelona side finished bottom of their group when he last came up against Eindhoven in this competition two years after guiding Ajax to glory in 1995.
'For me, it's a difficult place,' said Van Gaal, who confirmed he was in the running to take over as PSV coach three years ago. 'I didn't win so much here. It's a difficult ground. When I was manager of Barcelona I didn't win here. And with Ajax I didn't win so much.
'But I was also a national coach (of Holland). When I came here the people were very nice to me and wanted a picture of me, so I don't think that's bad.'
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