In the grim aftermath of Manchester United's mauling in Milton Keynes, Louis van Gaal was asked by a reporter whether the manner of his side's capitulation had shocked him.

'I am not shocked,' came the stern response, delivered with an uncompromising eye-lock glare.

Van Gaal genuinely wasn't shocked, and nor was he especially worried, since the experience of his coaching career has taught him that in order to achieve success, you must first work through the 'process.'

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He said as much on Tuesday night: 'We have to see in the process, that's what I'm saying. The process needs time. We are building up a team and you cannot make it in one month.'

The Dutchman is a notoriously slow starter in new jobs and new seasons. What we saw at Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich, we are currently seeing at United.

In fact, he is such a slow starter that the superb form seen on United's pre-season tour of the United States seemed too good to be true.

And so it has proved, with United collecting just one point from a possible six in the Premier League and exiting the League Cup before the point they would normally enter it.

But United fans should not be concerned. It will be all right in the end, as a glance back at Van Gaal's career proves.

When he arrived at Bayern Munich in 2009, Van Gaal described them as his 'dream club' but things soon turned into a bit of a nightmare.

They started with back-to-back draws against Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen before slumping to defeat at Mainz. They won only five of their opening 13 matches and by the end of November they were 8th.

Recovery: Van Gaal started slowly when he took over at Bayern Munich in 2009 but went on to win the league

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Allied to this was a dreadful start to their Champions League campaign, with home and away defeats by Bordeaux leaving them staring at an early exit and Van Gaal fighting for his job.

He responded in typically ebullient fashion ahead of a trip to Freiburg in late October. Repeatedly describing himself as a 'Prozesstrainer' ('Process manager'), Van Gaal laid down the law: 'I am at Bayern Munich, either you give me time or you don't.'

Bayern won 2-1 at Freiburg and remained unbeaten until late March, hitting the summit of the table just after the winter break. They won the title by five points and recovered from their shaky start to reach the final of the Champions League.

Van Gaal was vindicated, his 'process', once seen through to its end, was a successful one.

When he guided unfashionable Alkmaar to the Eredivisie title in 2009, the season started with back-to-back defeats by NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag. They promptly went 28 matches unbeaten and won the league by 11 points.

Repeat: Van Gaal's AZ Alkmaar also started slowly in 2008-2009 but they went on to claim the title

Dwarfed: It took Van Gaal some time to convince the fans at Barcelona that he was the right man for the job

Protest: Fans at the Nou Camp called for Van Gaal to be dismissed as results didn't go their way

At Barcelona, he dismayed pretty much everyone at the club by trying to enforce his philosophy, which was completely different to the club's.

Van Gaal asked star man Rivaldo to play on the left wing rather than through the middle, leading to rows in the camp and the fans getting on his back.

At the end of his first season, many remained unhappy, as Jimmy Burns recorded in his book, Barca: A People's Passion: 'The jury is out on Van Gaal, a Dutchman lacking the humanity of Bobby Robson and the popularity of Johan Cruyff, both of whose heads have rolled in the space of less than two years.

'Barca may be at the top of the league, but the fans are unconvinced. They have watched the team pathetically founder in Europe, while continuing to play lacklustre football in the League, winning seemingly by default rather than design.'

But you couldn't argue with the results - well, eventually. The following year, Barca found themselves 10th in La Liga in early December and at one stage they lost four on the bounce.

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Making his case: Van Gaal presents the Barcelona squad during his second spell in charge

When things finally clicked, Barcelona won 19 of their next 24 games, winning the title by a commanding 11-point margin. It all came right in the end.

And this pattern dates right back to the beginning of his managerial career, when he was named manager of Ajax against all the odds back in 1991.

Though a managerial novice, Van Gaal was a disciplinarian and his methods certainly ruffled a few feathers.

He fell out with leading players Jan Wouters, Bryan Roy and Johnny van't Schip by tinkering with their positions on the field.

And when Ajax took just 20 points from their first 16 games, Van Gaal had to endure the fans calling for club legend Johan Cruyff to replace him.

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'I will not change my attitude,' Van Gaal said. He didn't, and his time in Amsterdam yielded three Dutch league titles, the UEFA Cup and the Champions League in 1995.

So history tells us that Van Gaal will stubbornly stick to his methods at United. We may see some teething troubles with the 3-5-2 formation and certain players will have to adapt.

We may also see things getting worse before they get better - United could not be near the top four come the turn of the year.

But history also informs us that, once the 'process' is seen through, Van Gaal will deliver success. Slow starts to silverware are his speciality.