Louis van Gaal is demanding a dominant display from his
Manchester
on Boxing Day.
United have won seven and drawn one of their eight
games on home soil since losing 2-1 to Swansea City
on the Premier League's opening day.
Six victories on the spin helped Van Gaal's side climb
comfortably into the top four, though their momentum
was checked by a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa last time
out.
Newcastle were one of seven away teams to win a
Premier League game at Old Trafford last season in a
stuttering campaign under David Moyes, and Van Gaal
is keen to continue banishing the memories of those
home failings.
"We want to build a fortress at Old Trafford," he said
on Tuesday.
"We have made it that already because we have won
a lot, and with great results.
"We have to continue, but there are no easy games in
the Premier League.
"My record in away matches as a coach is not so
bad. Away, teams are more open and want to attack
but here they want to defend.
"That is why we have to build up a certain playing
style so we can dominate.
"I'm saying every week that we are dominating for 45
or 60 minutes. We have to dominate for 90 minutes."
Chris Smalling could return from a groin injury but
Luke Shaw (ankle), Marcos Rojo (thigh) are still
missing from Van Gaal's defence, while the midfield
will be without Marouane Fellaini (illness) and Daley
Blind (knee).
The festive period gives little time for recovery and,
though Van Gaal revealed certain members of his
squad are excited by the prospect of playing three
games in six days, he is not convinced.
He added: "For a few players it is fun because they
are recovering quickly.
"You also have players who are not recovering so
quickly, so I have to rotate. I have a lot of injured
players, this is the problem with these matches."
Newcastle's up-and-down campaign hit another low
point at the weekend as they went down 1-0 to
Sunderland, their fourth consecutive Tyne-Wear derby
defeat secured by Adam Johnson in the 90th minute.
After a testing start to the campaign, six wins on the
bounce in all competitions eased Tyneside tensions.
However, Sunday's loss was Newcastle's third in
succession and manager Alan Pardew is seeking a
strong response from his men.
Pardew said: "We have good spirit and character in
the squad.
"In terms of how we lost the [Sunderland] game, if we
were going to lose a game, I’d rather we lost it like
that.
"We tried to win it, and that ambition won't leave this
team because we have a good spirit and we never
give in.
"We have to move on, it's as simple as that. We can't
dwell on it. It was a performance that was pretty
good, but it wasn't enough."
First-choice goalkeepers Tim Krul and Rob Elliot
remain injured, but Pardew is optimistic about the
pair's recovery, with playmaker Siem de Jong also
closing in on a first appearance since his pre-season
move from Ajax.
Pardew will have to find a replacement for Chieck
Tiote in midfield after the Ivorian picked up his fifth
booking of the season against Sunderland.
19:59
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