Van Gaal: Manchester United strikers don't make life comfortable for me

Louis van Gaal says his strikers do not make like comfortable for him after watching Manchester United end an eight-match winless run with a 2-1 victory over Swansea at Old Trafford.

Manchester United recorded their first win in nine games in all competitions thanks to goals from Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney, but the Red Devils had to surive a late scare when Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was inches away from scoring what would have been a memorable equaliser.

Asked if this victory would lift the tension, Van Gaal said: "You cannot predict that. Only it shall raise the confidence and lower the pressure. The players have a lot of pressure also against opponents who make it very difficult to score with 10 players behind the middle line.

"That's why I'm very happy we scored the 2 beautiful goals but we have to score from our first chances so we are sitting on the bench more comfortable with a lead."

United looked as though they would squander the lead given to them by Martial's header early in the second half when Gylfi Sigurdsson restored parity, but Rooney's instinctive strike ensured an end to the winless run and Van Gaal hopes the win is the start of better things to come.

He added: "That's for me not amazing. Amazing for me is that we can play a game plan like in the first half with a risky style under this pressure. Also against Chelsea last week we played very risky, we pressed, and everyone has to function because the space behind us is bigger.

"Yet still we are the most dominant team, both against Chelsea and today against Swansea. I have good hope that this is a starting point for much more."