Robin Van Persie

Louis van Gaal has been left with another selection conundrum after he revealedRobin van Persie will be back for Manchester United’s match at Swansea on Saturday.

Van Persie missed the 3-1 FA Cup win over Preston on Monday because of an unspecified injury but the striker is in the squad for the game at the Liberty Stadium. Van Gaal will have to decide whether to hand him a start at the expense of Wayne Rooney or Radamel Falcao – or drop his captain into midfield.

Michael Carrick is to return to training next week following a calf injury, while the defender Phil Jones is fit to face Swansea having overcome his knee problem.

Van Gaal thinks United have got their swagger back – and he may have a point, given that United are third in the table having lost just once in their last 19 matches.

“When you see the scores of the last 19 or 20 matches we are the best team in the league. So that is why I think confidence is also high like it was at the beginning. The players know and have experience of playing in the system with my philosophy.”

United put in another unconvincing display at Deepdale on Monday when they had to come from behind to beat the League One side and set up an FA Cup sixth round tie against Arsenal. Van Gaal admits some of the criticism that has been aimed at his team recently has been valid and he is looking for an improvement from his squad in the final quarter of the season.

“I am never 100% happy,” he said. “We can play better but the main thing is to win your match, not to lose. We have shown this year a lot of times team spirit and that is very attractive for the fans but also for the coach, because then you can see a player wants to follow you.”

Van Gaal has spent over £150m on seven players since he arrived at United but the club are still willing to back him with significant funds in the next transfer window.

He has been linked with a number of players in recent weeks, including Nathaniel Clyne, Kyle Walker, Kevin Strootman and Mats Hummels.

Van Gaal declined an invitation to comment on how many changes he thinks he needs to make to his squad in the summer. “You will have to see and wait,” he said.