Adnan Januzaj has revealed that he endured "frustrating and difficult" period under Louis van Gaal's guidance at Manchester United and has expressed his desire to dedicate his first goal for Real Sociedad to the Dutchman.
The Belgium international was one of the very few positives from the Red Devils' disappointing 2013/14 season under David Moyes. The Scot was sacked 10 months into his six year contract and Van Gaal replaced the former Everton manager at Old Trafford.
However, United did not recover as they continued to struggle even under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager. Januzaj, who had loan spells at Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland in the past completed a permanent move to Sociedad earlier in the summer transfer window.
Januzaj remains hopeful that he can "shut up" all his critics by impressing for his new club Sociedad.
"If I score a goal I will dedicate it to Van Gaal. I don't want to talk about him [Van Gaal] but everyone knows how many problems I had with him. We didn't have the best of rapports. It wasn't easy, it's very frustrating and difficult when you are in a situation like that," Januzaj told AS.
"I didn't have many possibilities to play. I spent a long time on the bench and that makes you lose confidence and minor injuries emerge.
"Many times I wouldn't play as a starter and you struggle to shine without continuity. The coach would put me in positions that I didn't know how to play in and I had little experience in. I hope that one day, I can shut up all those people that criticised me."
United sacked Van Gaal just days after he helped the club win the FA Cup in May 2016. He was replaced by Jose Mourinho last summer and the Portugeuse tactician helped the Red Devils win the EFL and the Europa League as the latter helped them to return to the Champions League.
