Louis van Gaal critical of Manchester United`s US pre-season tour

Zee Media Bureau/Dattaraj Thaly

New Delhi: Schedule of Manchester United`s pre-season US tour has been criticized by Louis van Gaal, the new manager of the club. Speaking to the media, the Dutch manager said: " You have to travel distances, you have to fly a lot, you also have jet-lag - that is not very positive for a good preparation. The tour was already arranged so I have to adapt - and Manchester United shall do everything to adapt to my rules for good preparation". Manchester Unied are scheduled to play four games during their US tour. The fixture list for the tour is as follows: Wednesday July 23: LA Galaxy, Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena Saturday July 26: Roma, Sports Authority Field, Denver - International Champions Cup Wednesday July 30: Inter Milan, Fedex Field, Washington -International Champions Cup Saturday August 2: Real Madrid, Michigan Stadium, Detroit - International Champions Cup Interestingly, Ed Woodward, the club`s executive vice-president believes the exact opposite as he suggested only 24 hours prior to Gaal`s statement that United`s US tour would not harm their preparations for the 2014-15 Premier League season. After guiding Netherlands to a third place finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Louis van Gaal met his new players for the first time last week. If United reach the finals of the International Champions Cup, they will have to cover almost 13,500 miles as part of the US tour. Manchester United kick-off their 2014-15 Premier League campaign on 16 August at home against Swansea.