Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal suggested that Radamel Falcao should get used to the bench as the Colombian works to recover his fitness following several niggling injuries.The on-loan striker has played just 283 minutes since his move from AS Monaco on transfer deadline day, scoring just once, in a 2-1 win against Everton in October.
Asked whether Falcao wouldbe happy with a role on the substitutes bench for Monday’s Premier League clash with Southampton, the Dutchman replied: “I am not interested in that. He has to follow my philosophy. Do youunderstand that? I am here because of that. I have selected him in spite of the fact he can only play for 20 minutes, because the rhythm of the game in the Premier League is the highest.”
He continued: “It’s match fitness [he needs]. It would be a better contribution if he played with the second team, but I cannot do that because on Tuesday we had the match against Stoke andWayne Rooney was injured. I had to adapt to the needs of the selection (squad).”