Louis van Gaal insists Manchester United fans must be patient

Published Aug. 13, 2014 9:30 a.m. ET

foxsports

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says that fans should remain patient despite their excellent pre-season form.

The Red Devils beat Valencia 2-1 in a friendly at Old Trafford on Tuesday - their sixth win from as many matches this summer - but the Dutchman warns that there is still work to be done, with their Premier League opener against Swansea City to be played on Saturday.

"Old Trafford was fantastic. I come on the pitch and they are shouting and screaming your name," Van Gaal told the press. "It is also a big pressure as they expect a lot and you cannot change everything in three or four weeks.

"The players cannot change either so we have to wait and see and develop and we need time.

"But we have won every game until now and that is fantastic when you see our opponents so we have great confidence for Swansea City."

Van Gaal also noted that his side's performance on Tuesday against Spanish opposition was their worst of the close-season, despite Marouane Fellaini's late winner ensuring a perfect summer record.

"The main thing is that we have won in spite of playing our worst game. We made a lot of wrong choices, wrong passes and we didn't press too much," the former Netherlands boss observed.

"I think Valencia is a very good team, very comfortable on the ball so it is not easy to press but, in spite of that, we dominated the game and at the end we are the winner because we are fighting until the last minute and that is also a good signal.

"It is a start. We had four debuts so I am pleased we have won the game against a very good team."

FOX Soccer and Goal.com have teamed up to bring you the best in world soccer coverage. Visit Goal.com, and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

More from Goal.com:

Live transfer blog: Latest news from summer window

The summer's most expensive transfers

Transfer talk: 24/7 source for the latest rumors