Louis van Gaal has admitted he has failed to live up to his job description at Manchester United but insisted he is still the right man for the job.

Van Gaal accepted he was employed to win key matches such as those against Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven and had failed to do so. But the manager said responsibility for the Champions League exit also lay with the players.

The Dutchman’s claim that expectations of United are out of kilter with reality because it is no longer fair to demand trophies, and that there were positives in Tuesday’s defeat at Wolfsburg, will not go down universally well.

United slid out of the Champions League and into the Europa League after losing 3-2 in Germany. In the previous Champions League match Van Gaal’s team drew 0-0 with PSV at Old Trafford. This also proved a prime factor in their being knocked out as PSV qualified in second place in Group B.

Van Gaal, asked if these matches were precisely the kind he was hired to affect, said: “I agree. I think also we lost [qualifying for] the next stage in the home match against PSV. When I analyse that game, in the first half we missed so many chances. That was our problem. In the second I think they deserved to draw. If we finished the chances in the first half the game was finished. But when you say that I am hired to make the difference, you are right. I don’t think it is [completely] like that – I can make the difference, in tactics and everything. But I cannot score goals.”

Van Gaal admitted to being sorry for the Champions League disappointment but insisted expectation was too high and said the belief that United should win the competition was out of date.

“They say a club like Manchester United has to win,” the manager said. “That’s the past. You have to analyse the club now. Now we have much more clubs who have money … also the structure and are able to win something.

“Next year, all the clubs in the Premier League have a bigger budget than most in Europe. That makes a big difference. Every club can also buy a player. You think Manchester United has a lot of money – that is true. But other clubs are asking for much more from us than from Bournemouth.

“The difference is not so big any more. The confirmation is every week. The bottom clubs can beat the top teams. There is no other league where that happens as often as it does in the Premier League. It is very difficult for a Premier League club to match with the other leagues in the Champions League. It was not so easy for all the clubs to qualify themselves.”

Ultimately, though, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal progressed – the first two as group winners – and there was at least an admission from Van Gaal his team underachieved. “You shall always say a club like Manchester United shall go further than the group stage. OK. I think the same but the reality is that is not happening.”

Van Gaal pointed to other factors in the disappointing performance, even mentioning the officiating. “You have to analyse the group stage matches,” he said. “When you do that, you can see what is happening. Nowadays, the decisions of a referee are very important. That makes a difference.”

He denied the only way to make up for being eliminated was to claim the title. “No. It is difficult. You want to raise the expectations,” he said. “For the fans it shall be like that. But I want to manage the expectation. It is not as easy as everybody thinks. We live now. It is not only difficult for Manchester United. It is also difficult for Manchester City and Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea or Leicester.

“I work hard, my players work hard, now we are in the Europa League and we have to work hard to win that. That is not easy. But nobody hears that – they don’t want to hear me.”

Van Gaal was indignant at suggestions the Europa League counts for little. Asked whether he would be happy to win just that competition, he said: “Just? You think it’s just? I’m not thinking like that. I have already won the Europa League [Uefa Cup] with Ajax in my first season, and I was very proud of that. For me, the Euro League is a big competition.”

He is clear he is still the best manager for United. “I don’t have any doubts,” he said. “You can lose and you can win in sport, and you have to accept that, as a player and as a manager.”

Van Gaal would not be drawn on whether he is still among the elite band of managers. “You have to judge,” he said. “I have read already in the media that I am 64 and I am too old. I read the same things 20 years ago. I cannot change what is in your mind. I can only say the facts.

“Within two days we have to beat Bournemouth. That is very difficult. Bournemouth is playing very positive, pressing a lot, working very hard as a team. To beat them shall be very difficult. But we can beat them, just as we could have beaten Wolfsburg. You have seen that. But I didn’t read it. I didn’t see that you say anything positive for [Guillermo] Varela or [Cameron] Borthwick-Jackson. Because you can see that as a positive. Memphis [Depay] is 21, [Jesse] Lingard is 22, [Anthony] Martial 20 and still we could hurt the No2 of Germany.”