Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal blames fellow Dutchman and former assistant Ronald Koeman after their acrimonious split at Ajax.
Koeman, now Southampton manager, worked under Van Gaal at Barcelona but the pair fell out when they were at Ajax in 2004, when Koeman was coach and Van Gaal the technical director.
They shake hands on meeting now, according to Koeman, but Van Gaal referred to his former protege as “weak” in his autobiography and the closeness they once had never returned.
ìI will never have dinner with Koeman again,î said Van Gaal.
ìHe engineered my departure. With support within the club and help from the Dutch media.
ìI asked him whether he had deliberately used the media and his answer was yes.î
United can go third if they beat Southampton, who are a point ahead of them in the table, and then face Liverpool but Van Gaal disputed suggestions the match against their Merseyside rivals was more important.
He also believes the Saints can still be in the Champions League places at the end of the season.
Van Gaal said: “Southampton play better at this time and have more points at this moment than Liverpool so I think it’s good that we have to play Southampton now.
“I think they have a good squad, a lot of players that I know and who were offered to us. I think they are able to come in the top four but that’s also because I believe in the management in Ronald Koeman and his brother [Erwin].”

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