• Premier League

Van Gaal was drunk with praise but has sobered up - Neville

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville says his old club are not good enough to become champions.

Neville, now a member of England's coaching team, claimed Louis van Gaal's first eight Premier League games at the club have had a sobering effect after his intoxicating success in the World Cup with the Netherlands and on United's pre-season tour of America.

But United's 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Monday left them 10 points behind leaders Chelsea, even though they have already played six of the bottom eight in the table and was seen by Neville as a reality check.

"At this moment in time this Man United team isn't good enough to win the league," Neville told Sky Sports.

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Louis van Gaal is in the spotlight © Getty Images

• Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is happy to admit that he is a confident fellow and, despite the draw with West Brom, is optimistic about his team's prospects this season. He talks Chelsea, the title race and ... biscuits.
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"Van Gaal asked for three months when he came in and he's reassessed that. It's a tougher job than he imagined and in the next eight games they've got tough opponents.

"At the start of the season, after eight games you would have said they would have been on 16 or 17 points. There's been a lot of upheaval. It's been tough for him.

"Coming out of the World Cup he was drunk with praise, but I think it's sobered him up slightly."

Van Gaal has spent £152 million on six major signings but Neville said United's injury crisis, when up to 10 players have been ruled out, was partly to blame for their slow start.

"There's a big belief, I think he will get it right," Neville said. "A lot of good players have been signed but there's been so many injuries, particularly in defence. There's something there but it's going to take him longer."

Neville won eight Premier League titles in his playing days, when he made 602 appearances for United, and has seen too much inconsistency from the current team.

He explained: "It's indifferent and it's up and down. I still don't see any patterns in their attacking play that are really exciting.

"[Angel] Di Maria is the player. Every time he gets the ball he looks like he lights things up, he looks like the spark. In terms of connections between Di Maria and [Robin] van Persie or Van Persie and [Radamel] Falcao or [Adnan] Januzaj, there's not really that pattern and style at the moment through midfield.

"They are playing in moments. They are not playing in what I would call rhythm. That's the disappointing part.

"It's a new team. The back four is new and at times they struggled and at times they did well. You just get an indifference in sections of the game.

"Sometimes you watch them for 20 minutes, [the 5-3 defeat to] Leicester was the same, and you think: 'Something's happening here, they look good'. In the next 20 minutes it turns on its head.

"At the moment they are lacking that consistency right the way through 90 minutes and they are going to need a high level of consistency in the next two matches [against Chelsea and Manchester City]."

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