Van Gaal 'wanted to join the number one club in the country, not Tottenham'

Louis van Gaal has insisted that he does not regret taking the Manchester United job, despite enduring a difficult start to life as a Premier League manager.

The Dutchman also revealed that he could have opted to fill the manager's position at Tottenham Hotspur when it was vacant, but claims the job would have lacked the enormity he faces at Old Trafford.

"No, I don't regret taking this job," Van Gaal is quoted as saying by Sky Sports News. "Yes, it is a massive job I have taken on at Manchester United, I realise that.

"I could have opted for an easier job. If I had gone to Tottenham, the job would not have been as enormous as here at United. In my eyes, Man United is still the number one club in England, Tottenham really is not.

"I could have easily gone to Spurs. But I chose the biggest challenge of all the jobs in football. And I really wanted to join the number one club in the country, not Tottenham."

Van Gaal's team have picked up just two points from their first three Premier League games and were dumped out of the Capital One Cup by League One MK Dons.