Manchester United look destined to miss out on the top four for the second time in three seasons and have only the FA Cup final to help but some gloss on an otherwise forgettable season.
"Philosophy" has been one of the main mantras that manager Louis van Gaal has stuck by this season, insisting that the team he inherited last year is still in transition.
"Expectations are too high,” he said at United’s Player of the Year awards dinner.
"We are in a period of transition. It is not so easy. We have to meet the expectations of the biggest club in the world."
Manchester United have spent over £250m over the past two seasons in an attempt to return the squad to a position where they can compete at the highest level.
"I am very arrogant, because I am one of the best managers in the world," he continued.
"I’m a coach, a manager who would rather have some authority, but every day the players can read it, what do you think about my authority as well? What do you think about the way they want to follow my advice when the coach is shown like a nobody?
"And I am not what the media is writing because When the media is writing for six months I am sacked already... I can cope with that.
"It is not new for me. For my players, it is not so easy."
David de Gea was named the club's player of the year for the third consecutive season.
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