• Premier League

Van Gaal slams Neville's 'Dog and Duck' jibe

Louis van Gaal has warned Gary Neville to "pay attention to his words" after the former Manchester United defender said Sunday's Premier League clash with Liverpool could slip to pub-football standard.

Van Gaal criticised Neville, his own players and long-term foe Ronald Koeman after his side's 2-1 Premier League victory at Southampton on Monday.

'We were lucky'

Robin van Persie scored twice to rescue United at Southampton © Getty Images

• Louis van Gaal admits Manchester United were fortunate to beat Southampton after Robin van Persie's double led them to a 2-1 victory at St Mary's.
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Neville, who won 15 major honours as a United player and now works as a television analyst, claimed Robin Van Persie's brace meant United "got away with murder" at St Mary's, before tipping the weekend's game at Old Trafford to be "like the Dog and Duck versus the Red Lion".

"The former player of United?" asked Van Gaal when quizzed on England coach Neville's comments. "That's an English expression? Hmm … maybe [United did get away with murder].

"He can say everything because he is an ex-legend, but as an ex-legend, or a legend, you have to know what you are saying.

"You can make an interpretation of that. It's not so difficult to make an interpretation, when I say he has to pay attention to his words."

United leapfrogged Southampton into third place thanks to their fifth-straight victory, with Van Gaal hailing Van Persie's "best performance" this term.

The former Barcelona boss then laid into the majority of his players for below-par performances, but refused to single out those who came up short.

"Robin had a great influence on the result," Van Gaal said. "Until now that is his best performance.

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"Too many players were not good. There was a range of course between good and bad, but they were not good. There were too many players in that range who were not good, I believe."

Van Gaal offered a thinly-veiled barb at his long-term adversary, taking first blood in the Premier League battle against his former friend.

Van Gaal once mentored Koeman into coaching at Barcelona, but the pair's feud has now lasted 10 years.

"Of course if you are the better team you deserve more, but believe me it is always the goals that are counting," Van Gaal said.

"When we played the first six or seven matches, we never won and we were always the better team. In that time I didn't say anything about that: you have to learn that also."

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