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Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has warned Memphis Depay he risks following in the footsteps of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao if he does not start buying into his philosophy. Depay joined United from PSV Eindhoven in the summer and has previously said he turned down a host of other top clubs because he wanted to be reunited with Van Gaal, having played in the coach's Netherlands side at the 2014 World Cup. However, he said earlier this month he was still struggling to adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League, and he was left on the bench for Saturday's 3-0 victory at Everton. Van Gaal has now revealed that his assistant, Ryan Giggs, has been trying to encourage the forward to follow the "team philosophy" but said it was down to the 21-year-old to implement the advice. Should he fail to do so, Van Gaal said he may meet the same fate as Di Maria and Falcao, who arrived amid much fanfare in the summer of 2014 but lasted just one season at Old Trafford. "Ryan has already given advice to him but the player is responsible for his own deeds," Van Gaal told reporters. "You have to give respect to your team philosophy. "We have seen that some players cannot adapt to the team philosophy. You cannot know in advance before you buy them. You have to wait and see. That happened with Angel Di Maria and Falcao." He would not publicly disclose which areas of Depay's game he felt required improvement, however. "I only discuss that with Memphis, not with you," he said. On whether he still believed in Depay, he said: "Of course. The problem with young players is they are not consistent. That you have to learn. We have to give him time." While Depay did not feature against Everton, Ander Herrera was handed his first Premier League start in over a month and rewarded the manager's faith with a goal and an impressive overall performance. "I have seen a lot of individual players today who are playing very good, but that is also because the result is very good," Van Gaal said. "When I have to mention one name, I have to mention Ander Herrera. "He played very well and had a great contribution with the goals." However, Van Gaal said the midfielder could yet lose his place if he does not feel he is well suited to United's opponents. "That is dependable on the game-plan on how we play and how the opponent is playing," he said. "That is why I have selected this line up today. "That is dependable on the qualities of the opponent. When Herrera is playing like that it is difficult to not select him, but I can do it."
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