Daley Blind was one of Louis van Gaal's first signings at United. The former Ajax midfielder followed van Gaal to Old Trafford after the pair helped The Netherlands to a World Cup semi-final.
Blind played centre midfield, left midfield, left back and centre back for United, under van Gaal, but was mostly deployed in the centre of defence in the manager's final season with the club.
Forty-eight hours after guiding United to F.A Cup success, van Gaal was sacked by the club.
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Blind is in Dutch camp ahead of Friday's friendly with Ireland. Naturally, when he was up for interview, Blind was asked about events back in England.
Naturally, too, Blind stood by his former coach. Van Gaal, he said, was a great coach to play under and he would have liked to see him stay on longer. The 26-year-old was not happy with how it all ended for van Gaal. He commented:
"He has not been treated fairly over the last six months. 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."
Moving quickly on, Blind also touched on Jose Mourinho, who is heavily linked to taking over from van Gaal.
"'If Mourinho really does come to United," he told
De Telegraaf, "I'll just have to prove myself from the beginning, like any other player."
