Louis van Gaal: I rejected chance to manage Tottenham Hotspur

Louis van Gaal has revealed that he turned down the chance to manage Tottenham Hotspur in December.

The Netherlands head coach was one of the leading candidates to replace Andre Villas-Boas following a string of poor results in the Premier League.

I have refused [the Tottenham job] but maybe there will come another chance

Louis van Gaal

However, chairman Daniel Levy appointed interim head coach Tim Sherwood before offering the former Blackburn Rovers captain a contract until the end of 2014-15 season.

And Van Gaal, who has previously managed Bayern Munich and Barcelona, is still hoping to work in English football after next summer’s World Cup.

“You have to give an example to your players that they have to focus on the national team and that is my ambition also,” Van Gaal said.

“I have refused [the Tottenham job] but maybe there will come another chance. That is the difficulty with coaching. When you are free, then maybe there are no vacancies.

“When you are working, then there are vacancies. It is always difficult.”

He added: “After the World Cup I shall retire or, if there is a Premier League club, I shall think about it.”