Daley Blind bemoans Louis van Gaal’s sacking

"But in the case of Van Gaal he has not been treated fairly over the last six months.

"I think a manager with the status of Van Gaal, who has achieved so much in his career, deserved more respect.

"No matter what was said or written about him as a manager, he never stopped protecting us as players.

"He has defended us under any kind of circumstances, he was always taking the stick instead of us.

"I think I can say that the whole squad is grateful for that, for what he has done in that respect for us as players.

"As players we kept believing in each other and we also kept believing in our manager, which was part of the reason we were able to win the FA Cup.

"We achieved this as a group, including the manager. In the end, this was a successful season in our eyes."