Ed Woodward has spoken to senior Manchester United players

Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward has spoken to a number of players and senior figures at Old Trafford about Louis van Gaal, following their defeat to Southampton.

Van Gaal has travelled to the Netherlands to celebrate his daughter's birthday and is not due to return to the UK until Tuesday, when he is expected to take training at Carrington as normal.

There was no training on Monday, contrary to reports in several English newspapers that assistant manager Ryan Giggs had been left to take charge of the team.

But in Van Gaal's absence, Woodward has held talks with senior members of the first-team squad to discuss the team's recent performances.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was photographed at Manchester airport on Sunday afternoon (picture courtesy of Laura Wolfe)

United lost for the eighth time this season thanks to Charlie Austin's late goal for the visitors, which left them 10 points behind leaders Leicester.

Already out of the Champions League, United are five points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham and lagging behind in their attempts to reach next season's competition. They were knocked out of the Capital One Cup on penalties by Middlesbrough.

The weekend meeting with Southampton saw United fail to win for the 18th time in 34 competitive matches this season. 10 of their last 11 games at Old Trafford have been 0-0 at half-time and they have scored only two first-half goals at home in the Premier League since last summer.

Manchester United have won two of their past 10 Premier League games under Van Gaal (picture courtesy of Laura Wolfe)

Fans have become disillusioned with the team's playing style, calling for more emphasis on attack while Van Gaal has adopted a more defensive approach.

The club has also yet to win a trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, despite Van Gaal spending almost £250m in the last 18 months.