Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said it is unlikely that the club have spoken to Jose Mourinho about replacing him.

Mourinho, who was sacked by Chelsea in December, has been heavily tipped to take over from Van Gaal by British media in recent weeks but the Dutch coach said he had heard nothing of the sort from United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and the Old Trafford board.

"I can only say that I have spoken with Ed Woodward and I cannot imagine that they have spoken with each other. I think that if they speak with another manager, they would tell me because our relationship is like that," Van Gaal told The Independent.

"I not only have a strong relationship with Ed, but also with the Glazers. And that is why I am annoyed with all the publicity. I have been 'sacked' three times and now it is about negotiations starting with Mourinho."

United, who are fifth in the Premier League, travel to face second-from-bottom Sunderland tomorrow.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.