The romantics will pick Sean Dyche or Ronald Koeman , the statistics lovers will go for Jose Mourinho or , at a push , Arsene Wenger . But for me there is one standout contender for manager of the year and that 's Louis van Gaal . Think about what he walked into and what he was expected to achieve in a short space of time . You can only be impressed . The stricken patient was fading fast , but the Dutch doctor has n't just stuck plasters over the wounds , he 's breathed life into a giant and resurrected it back to rude health . Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is among those in the running for manager of the year . United 's players celebrate together during the derby win against rivals Manchester City . Wayne Rooney , Ashley Young and Juan Mata celebrate during the 4-2 win against City . Manuel Pellegrini is punching above his weight at City ... the club MUST think big or forever remain small . Forget Eden Hazard and Michael Carrick ... the best player in the Premier League this weekend was Leicester 's Jamie Vardy . How stupid do some English football 'experts ' look now ? After the early-season defeats at MK Dons and Leicester City , they were laying into Van Gaal . They should have known better . When a manager as great as Van Gaal turns up in the Barclays Premier League , we should all be grateful to witness his genius at close quarters . So while he was busy trying to rectify the massive problems he inherited at Manchester United , there were too many who could n't wait to hammer him for every single slip-up . And now they 've all gone quiet as United cement their place in the top four . Job done – so far , at least . The critics will probably say he has n't won anything . Listen , United were seventh last season , their defence was decimated in the summer , and this season the two big signings – Radamel Falcao and Angel di Maria – have , for different reasons , failed to hit the heights they achieved previously . Marouane Fellaini celebrates scoring in this brilliant photograph taken by Sportsmail snapper Ian Hodgson . Despite all of that , Van Gaal has taken United back to where they wanted to be – into the top four . In fact , it 's mid-April and United are still in the title race ( unlikely , but they 're just a point behind Arsenal so of course they 're still in it ) . Sunday 's derby victory was utterly convincing . And it highlighted one of the biggest strengths of Van Gaal 's reign at United so far – the way he has worked with and improved individual players . All of a sudden Ashley Young looks brilliant – it was n't just Sunday , he 's been arguably United 's best player this season . How many managers could have made Young look convincing in a United shirt ? At the start of the season I was asking the question about Chris Smalling and Phil Jones – could they make the centre-half spots their own ? I think that question is still pertinent , but those two played very well against City and are starting to look the part in the Old Trafford back four . Players once moaned about , such as Fellaini and Young , are now pivotal parts of the team under Van Gaal . Van Gaal ’ s belief in the value of repetition has worked and players like Young and Fellaini have benefited . Michael Carrick looks indispensible again , when even I was doubting if he would recover from the David Moyes debacle . And who knew Marouane Fellaini could be so influential for Manchester United ? Even Van Gaal 's decision to give Wayne Rooney the captaincy looks inspired . He 's had a brilliant season and he 's led the United resurgence on the field superbly . Impressive stuff , so all the critics need to calm down and pay a bit more respect to Van Gaal , he deserved a better reception from the English football public based on his career record alone . A little more than a year ago Manchester United were humiliated at home by City . Van Gaal has single-handedly raised the sinking ship back to the surface , steadied it , and got it sailing full steam ahead . He just needs to add a bit of polish next season . Angel di Maria ( third right ) and Radamel Falcao ( right ) were left out of the starting XI by Van Gaal on Sunday . Van Gaal shakes hands with his opposite number Manuel Pellegrini after the final whistle at Old Trafford .
liver United 4 - 2 liver City : Click here for the week ##day . Louis van Gaal is in with a dream of winning manager of the year . Chelsea 's Jose Mourinho and Southampton 's mark Koeman are too . van Dyche could be in if he saves Burnley from relegation . ADRIAN DURHAM : Man City must think big or forever remain small .