Vieira earmarked as future City manager
Ham with an ankle injury, will again be absent, but like Memphis Depay he has scored only two league goals this season. Anthony Martial, the young French prodigy has three and midfielder Juan Mata is top scorer with four.
United supporters have taken to chanting “attack, attack, attack” in almost every game and they will need goals on Tuesday with the team second in Group B on eight points, one behind leaders Wolfsburg with PSV Eindhoven, playing CSKA Moscow, on seven.
But manager Van Gaal is insistent the problem will not last.
“The goals are coming, that is my strong belief,” he said after the two points dropped against West Ham United left them fourth in the table.
“We created a lot of chances but to score you need not only composure but a lot of luck. So I’m not worried.”
He did admit, however, that winning the Champions League is not realistic this season, adding: “Maybe next year, when we strengthen our selection again.”
Even with injuries to a number of other players, Van Gaal believes he can rely on his defence in Germany. With England’s Chris Smalling in outstanding form, they have kept seven clean sheets in nine games.
Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger can provide the leadership United need, Van Gaal said.
“The reason why we have bought Schweinsteiger is that he is a player who can lead or guide a team.
“That is important – not only his football qualities – but that he can lead and guide a team on the pitch,” Van Gaal said.
“I believe that every match that he plays he can play better because until now we have not seen the best Schweinsteiger that I have seen at Bayern Munich, but he can guide the team.”
Schweinsteiger has called on his teammates to be more clinical, putting their struggles down to a question of attitude.
“The players are not scared in front of goal, no. It is all about the killer instinct. We have players who have the abilities but we need it in every game,” he said.
“When you are a big striker like (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Lionel) Messi and Thomas Muller, they are all the same. It is about attitude. You need the attitude that you want to score.
“The motivation is there for Tuesday. It is a very important match for us and I know how difficult it is at Wolfsburg.
“We have to find the right tactic.”
United will also be without France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, who has not travelled to Germany because of a hip injury sustained against West Ham United.
Other than Rooney, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia are all still absent.
United have taken a number of young players to Germany including Uruguayan defender Guillermo Varela, who made his debut as a substitute against West Ham, Nick Powell, Sean Goss and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.
For Wolfsburg, even a draw will be enough to secure a spot in the next round.
While their rocky domestic form has seen last season’s Bundesliga runners-up slip to fifth after a 2-1 last-gasp defeat by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, Dieter Hecking’s team are top of Group B after a 2-0 win at CSKA Moscow.
They are now looking to continue their fine home form, having won twice without conceding.
For attacking midfielder Julian Draxler, beating United is not impossible.
“If we play against them as we did in the second half against Dortmund then I am certain we can beat United,” he said. – Reuters LONDON: Former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira is being groomed as a future City manager, the club's football administration officer Brian Marwood said on Monday.
Vieira, 39, took up his first managerial appointment in November, signing a three-year contract in the United States with sister club New York City.
Before that he had been working with Manchester City's development squad in his two years since retiring as a player in 2011.
“It was important that we could find the next development stage for Patrick and it was still part of the group,” Marwood said. “That opportunity came about in New York. We are really excited, he is really excited by it and I think it is exactly the next step he needs.
“Hopefully, at some point, he'll come back and manage Manchester City, That's the ambition for him and that's the ambition for us.
“But he has to go through this learning curve.”
Vieira won the 1998 World Cup with France as well as four Serie A titles (one of which was revoked) and three in the Premier League.
He returned to England from Italy in 2010 and played for City for a season and a half.
“We always felt from day one that he could make a major contribution to the club,” Marwood said.
“He had lived as a footballer for many years , but probably had not quite grasped or understood the importance of communications, marketing, commercial, legal and all those areas.
“He immersed himself fully and I think he came away with a different perception of what a football club was about.”
Current City manager Manuel Pellegrini has a contract until the end of next season and there has been regular speculation in the media that Pep Guardiola could replace him at some stage if he decides to leave Bayern Munich. – Reuters