Van Gaal delighted to see return of the real RVP!

Robin van Persie was the toast of Manchester United for his two goals in the win at Southampton on Monday.

But manager Louis van Gaal has admitted that the Dutchman was close to being dropped just a few weeks before for a string of quiet displays.

Questions were being asked as Van Persie was struggling to shake off the malaise that had affected him for much of last season.

But a brilliant goal against Hull City, and then a match-winning performance at St Mary’s, have been much more like it.

But Van Gaal insists he had remained convinced of the abilities of the man he made his captain with Holland.

“I’m very happy for him,” said Van Gaal.

“Robin wasn’t playing very well, but then you have to compare him with other players and he was a lucky boy.

“Radamel Falcao was injured. And I had to compare him with Wayne Rooney and James Wilson. I can play Rooney in a lot of positions and Wilson is a young talent, who has to show himself in training sessions.

“Then, I have usually played with two strikers. I have only played with one three or four times, so Robin was maybe lucky, but I have a lot of confidence in him.

“What I like in a striker is not only making goals but being the focal point of the attack, creating space and linking up with his team-mates. Van Persie is one of the best strikers at doing that.”

Today Van Gaal finally gets to experience English football’s biggest rivalry.

The Dutchman has sampled big rivalries elsewhere, like Ajax versus Feyenoord in Holland and Barcelona against Real Madrid in Spain.

But he reveals that members of staff at United’s Carrington training ground have quickly brought him up to speed about what beating Liverpool would mean.

“I am convinced this is United’s biggest game of the season because I have been told by different people inside this club,” admits Van Gaal.

“I am a very open guy, so when they can convince me, I take it to be the most important match. I have seen it from my chef, Mike. If there is one person I want to win this match for, it’s him!”

“I am used to close games,” he adds. “We’ve only beaten QPR and Hull by more than one. The rest have been all one-goal wins. So it will be hard enough to beat Liverpool.”