Gary Neville: United ready to hit the ground running

Gary Neville is of the opinion that Manchester United are in a better position now than what they were this time last year.

Louis van Gaal took charge of a side that finished seventh in the Premier League before securing a spot in the top four in his debut season.

Consistency was an issue throughout his opening year but United were much better against the bigger sides, home and away, in comparison to season that saw David Moyes sacked.

Gary Neville, however, believes his former club are ready to hit the ground running for the 2015/16 season.

“Louis van Gaal has had a year at the club now, he’s settled in, the players know him a lot more,” Neville told Sky Sports.

“I suppose there is a risk if they bring in five or six new players about how they would adapt to it but we’ve yet to see that.

“The players that are there will adapt a lot easier this season, they’ve had a year with him, he’s had a year with them and it should be a more comfortable position to start from.”

United could have a much worse set of opening fixtures to the upcoming season but they still includes ties against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Neville believes  the club should look at those games as an opportunity to show intent and gain confidence.

“In terms of Liverpool, you’re always expecting that to be a great game,” he continued.

“But there are two ways of looking at it, you can set a marker down for how you are going to perform in the big matches and you can gain a great deal of confidence.

“So it is easy to look at it with a glass half full but I think Tottenham, Liverpool and United will be looking at those games and thinking to themselves ‘lads, this is a great way to announce ourselves and give ourselves confidence to push on.’”

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