Wayne Rooney has revealed his admiration for former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal and stressed "it would got better" if the Dutchman continued at Old Trafford for the 2016/17 season.
Van Gaal was shown the exit door just days after he guided United to the FA Cup triumph in May 2016. The same season, the Red Devils finished fifth and missed out on the Champions League for the 2016/17 campaign.
United replaced the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager with Jose Mourinho last summer. Under the guidance of the Portuguese tactician, the 20-time English champions finished sixth in the league.
However, they won the EFL Cup and the Europa League and their success in Europe means they have sealed a berth in this season's Champions League. Rooney, who failed to feature regularly last season returned to Everton after spending 13 years at Old Trafford, provided an insight on Van Gaal's training techniques.
"He (Van Gaal) got a lot of stick. I believe if he stayed it would have got better. He looked at all the small details not only off the pitch but on the pitch," Rooney told talKSPORT.
"I think the one thing he did was keep the standards with the players, he was demanding the best from you every day. We used to film the training sessions, sit back and watch the training sessions back. It was tough for the players in that aspect but if he stayed we would have got better."
United signed Romelu Lukaku from the Merseyside club earlier in the season. The Belgium international has scored three goals in three league appearances for Mourinho's side and Rooney has hailed the 24-year-old as a "perfect player" for his former club.
"For that Manchester United side, he [Lukaku] is the perfect player. He is powerful, quick and strong and he scores goals, so certainly will improve that team," Everton man said of Lukaku.
