Louis Van Gaal wants to restore United’s mean killing machine.

The Reds boss has overseen 15 matches so far but of the seven victories he has engineered, only Queens Parks Rangers have been truly overpowered by United.

That September 4-0 romp at Old Trafford has been a one-off in a campaign of tight, hard-fought wins.

Against Hull a week last Saturday the Reds beat the Tigers 3-0 but with so little resistance from Steve Bruce’s poor outfit on the day van Gaal’s XI should have been rattling up an even bigger tally.

In United’s pomp under Sir Alex Ferguson they had a reputation for being merciless destructors of opponents and van Gaal himself has a history of creating big-hitting sides.

Ajax dominated Dutch football in his time there in the 1990s. At Barcelona his team registered such convincing results as 7-1 against Alaves and 4-0 away at Deportivo Coruna.

More recently, his Bayern Munich team in the 2009-10 campaign when they won the Bundesliga in his first season in charge, battered Borussia Dortmund away 5-1, trounced Bochum ion their travels 5-1 as well and annihilated Hannover in the Allianz Arena 7-0.

United’s support, however, are still waiting for those one-side slaughters.

Asked if it was a disappointment that teams are being let off the hook and not being killed off Van Gaal answered: “Yes. I cannot deny that.

“But this team is capable of doing that. At the end of (the process) I hope so. We have to dominate more. Against Hull City we dominated and that is why I was so pleased.

“But we could have scored more goals also. However, 3-0 is a very good result against a very defensive team. I would always like to play like that but that is not possible and I knew in advance.

“But that is what we are striving for.”

The United boss hasn’t been 100 per cent happy with any Reds matches he has been in charge of but admits even when his philosophy is fully digested and implemented by his squad it is doubtful he’ll ever oversee the perfect match.

“I cannot answer the question where we are at the moment because there are a lot of aspects that I want to improve,” he added.

“I am a perfectionist. It is always what we can improve. It is never 100 per cent all right. Never.

“Against Hull City I thought it was a rather good performance.

“I was very pleased. But against Stoke it was not so good. So within three days there was a big difference. And we are looking for consistency.

“The media are asking about momentum. I said already that we have to wait and see about the momentum.

“But (despite four wins on the bounce) I don’t there is momentum because when you have such a difference between two matches in three days you are not in a momentum.”

United’s consistency has been damaged by the horrendous injury pile up that has ripped through the senior squad.

It has also played its part in the Reds firepower not being on full blast.

Captain Wayne Rooney missed the Stoke match with a knee problem but is fit to face Southampton tonight.

However, Radamel Falcao is still not available to start as he inches his way back from the calf problem he’s had since late October.

Van Gaal’s policy has been to reintroduce injured first-teamers via the Under 21s.

But Rooney’s injury and James Wilson’s illness that forced him out of the Hull match has meant the Colombian hitman has had to be used on the bench in the Reds last two matches and the striker is set to be on the bench duty again tonight.

Asked if Falcao was becoming frustrated by having to wait for his first start since the beginning of October against Everton, Van Gaal revealed his ‘Iron Tulip’ reputation when he said: “I’m not interested. He has to follow my philosophy. Do you understand that? I’m here because of that.”

Fortunately the Reds do appear to be buying into the Dutchman’s methods.

And the United spirit is growing in the dressing room – a fact highlighted by the player’s Christmas party last week in Manchester inspired by skipper Rooney.

“It was fantastic,” Van Gaal said.

“Usually, I don’t use words like this, but I think it showed the cohesion in our group from both the players and staff. My wife and I enjoyed it very much.

“The squad is very important, and that’s why the timing of our Christmas party was fantastic - it showed the togetherness in the squad. I think we are in a good position.”