How Long can Manchester United Hold on to Louis Van Gaal

Louis van Gaal allowed himself a rare smile as he conducted his post-match media briefing by the side of the pitch at Shrewsbury Town's Greenhous Meadow.

The haunted look that followed the Premier League defeat at Sunderland and the humiliating Europa League loss at Danish minnows FC Midtjylland was temporarily replaced by the satisfaction of an easy 3-0 win at the League One strugglers in the FA Cup fifth round.

The respite only lasts until Thursday when they must beat Midtjylland at Old Trafford to keep those European aspirations afloat - but is it already too late for Van Gaal to salvage his Manchester United career?

Manchester United's win at Liverpool on 17 January appeared to release the pressure valve on the 64-year-old Dutchman - only for it to be turned up several notches by the home defeat by Southampton a week later.

This was the match that sealed the statistic that may yet be Van Gaal's Old Trafford epitaph: 11 successive home games without a first-half goal.

Since then there has been a rising tide of speculation - none of it refuted by anyone at the club, about Van Gaal's position as manager - particularly regarding conversations with the representatives of former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

Now even a Van Gaal win is not regarded as a win. It is regarded as a stay of execution, a delay of the inevitable. They are not victories - they are small acts of crisis aversion.

Van Gaal rightly pointed out that the trip to Shrewsbury Town could have been difficult. The FA Cup's history is littered with these sorts of shocks - but United went about their business professionally, efficiently and with commitment.

The environment surrounding Van Gaal and Old Trafford, the sense of inevitability that he will be gone at the season's end - perhaps before if they suffer any more serious losses - means that any sort of win is met with the reaction: "Until the next time."

It was exactly the same at Shrewsbury. Van Gaal is the man who cannot win…even when he wins.