Louis van Gaal suggests Manchester United will not buy a striker in January

Under-fire Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has suggested that the club does not need to spend big on a striker in this month's transfer window.

The Red Devils have not won in eight games in all competitions and managed just two goals in their last five Premier League games.

Van Gaal believes that his players are simply enduring a dry spell and will soon begin to convert the chances that they are creating.

"When you analyse most matches we were the dominating team, but we didn't score," Van Gaal told reporters.

"How many players have had the chances to score and why they didn't score? You cannot always explain that."

United's nosedive in form over the last two months has seen them drop to sixth in the Premier League, nine points adrift of leaders Arsenal and Leicester City.

Despite this, Van Gaal feels that the club's goalscoring problem can be fixed on the training field, not by panic-buying while the transfer window is open.

"We are looking always for solutions in the team. Also, for this moment, but we still have a good team and we can still score goals," Van Gaal added.

"I don't believe too much in competition. I believe in trust and confidence. Maybe that is wrong but I have done it all my life. I give trust to the players.

"The problem can be solved with money but also on the training pitch. We are training but scoring goals is a quality. We have that quality but at this moment there is a lack of confidence at the right time or we need to buy another striker."

Van Gaal had backed his captain Wayne Rooney to score 25 goals this term, but the Englishman has managed just two in the Premier League so far, while Anthony Martial has cooled off after scoring three in his first two games following a summer move from Monaco.