Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal accepts jeers from Old Trafford faithful

Louis van Gaal was booed by fans at Old Trafford after a controversial substitution

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has accepted the jeers directed towards him from the Old Trafford faithful, BBC reports. The fans reacted angrily after he removed Anthony Martial for Marouane Fellaini in the 66th minute of the Champions League tie against CSKA Moscow.

Van Gaal was addressing the media after United’s 1-0 win over their Moscow-based opponents. “I'm not deaf. That's the opinion of the fans but afterwards they shall not be disappointed,” said the Dutch manager.

The Red Devils won courtesy of a Wayne Rooney goal in the 79th minute. It was the United skipper’s 237th goal for the club which made him the second highest all-time goal scorer for United alongside Denis Law. The headed goal was also United’s first in 404 minutes.

Van Gaal happy with substitution to get desired result

Martial started the match as the striker, a position he revels in, with Jesse Lingard starting on the left and Juan Mata on the right. Rooney was initially deployed as a number 10 by Van Gaal and the manager was upbeat after the win and expressed happiness over his decision to allow Rooney to play further forward after Fellaini’s inclusion.

Not sure I've heard a substitution booed like that before at Old Trafford. Fellaini replaces Martial and almost mutinous response

— Daniel Taylor (@DTguardian) November 3, 2015

“I'm very happy because I put Rooney again in the striker's position and he scored,” said Van Gaal. The substitution was discussed a lot even after the match and BBC Radio 5 live pundit Pat Nevin described the substitution as ‘a shocker’.

“He was the last player I expected to be taken off,” said the former Chelsea player. “Wayne Rooney was there to get that chance that was unmissable. So once again, Wayne Rooney – without playing brilliantly – wins the game for United."

Marouane Fellaini came on for Anthony Martial much to the United fans’ dissatisfaction at Old Trafford

There has been a lot of criticism aimed at Van Gaal’s tactics and his team’s inability to find goals. Though the Red Devils won the match, the fluency and creativity associated with the United sides of old was still missing. Just a minute before Rooney’s goal, Chris Smalling and David De Gea had combined to deny Seydou Doumbia a clear cut goal scoring opportunity.

According to BBC, United legend Paul Scholes pointed out the lack of creativity in the team after the 20-times Premier League champions succumbed to a penalty shoot-out defeat against Middlesbrough. He also added that he wouldn’t have enjoyed playing in the team.

“There's a lack of creativity and risk,” said Scholes. “It's a team now you wouldn't want to play against because they're tightly organised.

“But it seems he (Van Gaal) doesn't want players to beat men and it's probably not a team I'd have enjoyed playing in.”