Louis van Gaal reveals he was 'very close' to taking over at Tottenham before agreeing to become new Manchester United boss

Van Gaal reveals he was 'very close' to taking over at Tottenham before agreeing to become the new Manchester United boss

Holland coach supported Spurs as a child

Admired striker Jimmy Greaves and the club's 'fantastic white shirts'

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy held talks with Dutchman

Louis Van Gaal has revealed he came ‘very close’ to taking over at Tottenham Hotspur before agreeing to become the new Manchester United manager.

The Holland head coach said he was tempted by the proposition having supported Spurs as a child because of an admiration for England striker Jimmy Greaves and the club’s ‘fantastic white shirts’.

Daniel Levy held talks with Van Gaal at the turn of the year but the Dutchman opted to move instead to Old Trafford once David Moyes was sacked.

Tempted: Louis van Gaal has revealed he came 'very close'to taking over at Spurs before joining Man United Boyhood club: Van Gaal supported Spurs as a child because of an admiration for striker Jimmy Greaves



Speaking for the first time about turning down the job now occupied by Mauricio Pochettino, Van Gaal said: ‘It was very close. Very close. As a little boy I was a fan of Tottenham Hotspur with the team of Jimmy Greaves when he was the champion. Jimmy Greaves was my idol. They had fantastic white shirts. So I was very close.’



Van Gaal was at the Dutch team’s hotel in Santpoort-Noord, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, ahead of a friendly with Wales on Wednesday night that was expected to provide a robust test for Holand before they fly out to Brazil on Thursday.

But the withdrawal of both Gareth Bale through injury and the absence of Aaron Ramsey for recuperation has left Van Gaal feeling ‘disappointed’. He questioned whether the players’ omission could be described as ‘holidays’.

‘I have said to my board that they have to insist on playing against Bale and Ramsey,’ said Van Gaal of the fixture scheduling. ‘But this can happen in football. I don't know why, whether it is injury or holidays.

‘When it is a holiday I am a little bit disappointed. But I can understand it because Bale has had a difficult but also impressive season under his belt.

‘It is better that we have the best team of Wales because we need resistance. I think Wales without these players are weaker.’



Sidelined: Van Gaal is disappointed Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey will miss Wales' friendly with Holland



Van Gaal will not utter a word directly about United until after the World Cup – ‘I have said to the CEO of Manchester United Ed Woodward that I only speak about the Dutch national team’ – but he did open up about his management style and said it was important his team liked him.

He has been painted as a unshakeable authoritarian since his appointment but showed a personable side on Monday when asked if it mattered what players thought.



‘I think it is very important,’ he said. ‘I am a coach who wants a good relationship with my players and I do everything to reach that level.