Louis van Gaal has not ruled out the possibility of trying to recruit a forward in the January transfer window to help ease Manchester United’s chronic goal shortage.
United have scored just 22 league goals so far this season in occupying sixth place in the table and are in danger of posting their record low for a Premier League campaign, which currently stands at 58 in 2004/05.
Van Gaal’s side has managed just 10 goals in their last 14 games in all competitions and cannot afford a fourth blank in five matches at Old Trafford against Swansea City on Saturday if the Dutchman is not to face further scrutiny about his position as manager.
Van Gaal currently has only Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial as recognised strikers in his squad, having allowed Robin van Persie, Javier Hernandez and Radamel Falcao to leave last summer.
He believes a combination of factors lies behind the solution to United’s problems in front of goal and while confessing to not liking too much competition within his squad admits that attempting to recruit reinforcements may be an option.
Van Gaal, who has been heavily linked with a move for Lazio’s attacking midfielder Felipe Anderson, said: “It can be solved with money but also on the training pitch. We are training but scoring goals is a quality.
“We have that quality but at this moment there is a lack of confidence at the right time or we need to buy another striker. It is always like that.
“We could have kept all the strikers but then there would have been a lot of strikers in the stand. They are not happy then. They want to go away. It is the story of Hernandez for example. He wants to play. I can imagine that he can't always play in this world.
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“There are now players in my selection who want to play. They cannot play because I choose another player. That is always like that. Too many strikers of high quality for the same position is too much pressure but now I don't have the chance to change.
“I don't believe too much in competition. I believe in trust and confidence. Maybe that is wrong but I have done it all my life as a manager. I give trust to the players.
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“Of course, we are looking always for solutions in the team. But we still have a good team and we can still score goals. I am convinced of that. But we also need a little bit of luck.”
United are seeking a first win in nine games today but to do must reverse a run of three successive defeats against Swansea under van Gaal’s management - all by 2-1 scorelines.
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Last Monday’s 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea appeared to remove some of the immediate pressure on van Gaal’s position, which had grown on the back of a run of games which has seen United fail to win since a 2-1 success at Watford on 21 November briefly lifted them up to second in the league table.
But the United manager knows a win has become imperative. Van Gaal added: “It is more or less the same test. The pressure what I have seen by myself is still the same. We cannot allow the gap to grow. We have to be there at the top of the league. That is our aim. We said that at the beginning of this season.
“The players are feeling like that also. They want to win because we didn't win for several matches in a row.”
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