t’s good to see Van Gaal listening to Manchester United players – Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling has revealed that Louis van Gaal is now listening to the players at Manchester United, and believes this will help the club get back on the right path.Van Gaal’s appointment in 2014 to the manager’s position at Manchester United saw the Dutchman come into the English game with his philosophy and fame for bust-ups with former players, such as Luca Toni at Bayern Munich.The former Netherlands boss has endured rows with a number of players during his time already at the Red Devils, such as banishing Victor Valdes from the first teamafter a disagreement.Chris Smalling has played the most defensive actions of any Manchester United player in the Premier League this season.However vice-captain Smalling has indicated that, while Van Gaal did set out his philosophy during his first few weeks with the United team, the manager now trusts and listens to his players when it comes to solving problems.The defender also indicated that the current campaign is one of the toughest, at least mentally, that he has gone throughat Old Trafford.Smalling told theExpress: “It’s been a madseason. There have been so many ups anddowns. One week it’s all doom and gloom and the next week you feel like you’re flying. Mentally it’s tough to handle sometimes because this season is so hardto explain. But that’s our job.“You have to be strong. If you do lose a game – like we did the other week against Southampton – then you just pick yourselves up and try to get on another run.“We don’t have a massive player meeting every time we lose, but there have been certain times during the season when we have all got together and said we’ve got to stick together.“The manager also encourages us to try to sort it out amongst ourselves. If there are any divisions in the group then you just keep going downhill. It’s been a testing time for everyone.