Louis van Gaal needs more than his press conference show of defiance to protect his position as Manchester United manager

We have been here before. It's Christmas, same training ground but this time it's a different manager.

December 27, 2004 and Sir Alex Ferguson reacts with fury to questions about Wayne Rooney's conduct in a 2-0 Boxing Day victory over Bolton Wanderers.

Tape recorders are swept violently from the table in front of him, at least one of them broken beyond repair.

Louis van Gaal walked out of his Manchester United press conference after a week of speculation around him

His decision to leave the briefing early reflected a time which saw Sir Alex Ferguson break a tape recorder

'See what you've done,' said Manchester United's great icon as he stormed out of the door.

'You've made me lose my temper now.'

Ferguson, as it turns out, has played his part in this week's drama at Old Trafford, calling Louis van Gaal to try to place talk of the current manager's future in some kind of context. A decent gesture, sure enough.

Van Gaal, however, finds himself playing a different role this Christmas than Ferguson did 11 years ago. Ferguson — then in his absolute pomp — was seeking to protect a young player signed only four months previously.

Van Gaal, exposed and a little emotional, was a man trying to protect himself, a coach perhaps beginning to sag a little under the weight of managing this great club.

In the cold light of day, Van Gaal perhaps has a right to be irritated at what he sees as unnecessarily intense coverage of his position at United this week.

Van Gaal rises from his seat after just two questions having grown frustrated with the media speculation

The United manager has seen his position called into question and he refused to take any more queries

Van Gaal walked out having only attended Wednesday's press conference to avoid a Premier League fine

The media — both in its intensity, its hunger and its breadth — has changed a lot since the Dutchman's own career began and not all of it has been for the better.

Nevertheless, Van Gaal has worked beneath some of football's most unforgiving spotlights — Amsterdam, Barcelona, Munich — and knows that this is how it works.

It is, after all, his own work that has brought him to this point. Undoubtedly one of the great modern coaches, Van Gaal has not delivered at his current club.

Indeed Wednesday's display was more forthright and steadfast than anything we have seen from his team this season, and that is telling.

When Ferguson got heated during a press briefing, it followed questions about Wayne Rooney's conduct

Van Gaal, seen here with Ferguson in 2010, has taken charge of some huge clubs including Bayern Munich

As such, only time will tell if his brief appearance at Carrington has helped his position as much as he hopes.

In 2014, David Moyes — under pressure from the United support — dealt with it head on by emerging before his team prior to a home game against Aston Villa and walking defiantly down the touchline.

United responded both on and off the field and won 4-1. It was one of the most admirable, most punchy, moments of Moyes' short time at the club.

Wednesday was something approaching Van Gaal's 'Moyes moment'. In attempting to tackle his predicament head on, he remained dignified and, he will have hoped, defiant.

When David Moyes was under pressure from United's support he walked defiantly down the touchline

Wednesday was something approaching Van Gaal's 'Moyes moment' as he remained defiant and dignified

Van Gaal's solemn lecture on the moralities of sports journalism will have impressed some United supporters but does nothing to change results and performances. They, after all, are the two factors that sit firmly at the heart of all this.

More than ever these days, perception counts for much in sport and this performance was certainly a gamble. This, after all, is a manager who badly needs to convince his board, the club's owners and — crucially — his players that he remains in full control, that the hand on the wheel is calm.

Ferguson, for all his idiosyncracies, used to turn his game face on and off as he walked in and out of a press conference. He could be puce with rage as he walked out of the door of the press room only to be whistling one of his favourite show tunes by the time he had crossed the car park on the way back to his office.

This, perhaps, was not the case with Van Gaal on Wednesday. He looked rather shellshocked after Saturday's 2-1 defeat at home to Norwich City and appears not to have washed all of that from his system yet. There was a sheen to the brow and, occasionally, some hesitancy.

United's players will have watched their manager's press conference and he will hope they will now react

Van Gaal's side have fallen to three straight defeats and slipped out of the top four of the Premier League

If this was a call to arms to his players, then it may or may not have its desired effect. Certainly those players will have watched it.

Already this week, one of United's foreign players told a relative how the squad had noticed the change of mood surrounding coverage of their manager's position in the media. Players have too much spare time on their hands not to spot these things.

Ferguson, for his part, used to loathe televised press conferences. He worried about being caught off guard. But he understood their value and no doubt Van Gaal does too.

At the start of a run of games that will decide his fate at Manchester United, he has played his opening card.