Louis van Gaal is due to face the media on Wednesday afternoon amid mounting speculation that he is about to be sacked by Manchester United.
The Red Devils have suffered three successive defeats and have failed to win any of their last six games, dropping to fifth place in the Premier League and exiting the Champions League during the disastrous run.
As a result, speculation has increased regarding Van Gaal’s future, with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho being touted as a possible replacement. However, the Portuguese's agent, Jorge Mendes, moved to deny an approach from United on Tuesday, saying his client has not yet been contacted by Old Trafford's power-brokers.
Many United fans were led to believe Van Gaal had been shown the door on Tuesday when former Manchester City and England star Trevor Sinclair claimed on Twitter that United would confirm the Dutchman’s exit later in the evening, only for him to then announce he had been the victim of a prank after leaving his mobile phone unattended.
But Van Gaal’s future remains on a knife-edge following a run of just three wins in 13 games, and his pre-match press conference at 3:30pm on Wednesday ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Stoke City is expected to be dominated by questions surrounding his immediate future.
The 64-year-old took the reins at Old Trafford in the summer of 2014 after leading the Netherlands national team to third place at the World Cup in Brazil, signing a three-year contract with United.
Yet the current run of poor form, coupled with criticism of his restrictive training methods and his team’s style of play, has left him perilously close to an exit.
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