'I have a superb relationship with my players,' the Dutchman told a news conference before the game against Liverpool on Saturday in what his opposite number Brendan Rodgers described as 'the biggest derby in the history of the league.' Newspaper reports this week said many United players were unhappy with Van Gaal's training regime and with his open criticism of his squad. But Van Gaal said 'it is very positive when players come to you because you know they trust you' following the visit by captain Rooney and vice-captain Carrick. They told him the dressing-room was flat, explaining that they were trying to help him. 'I communicate not only with my captains, they try to warn me, so I then go to my dressing-room and communicate with my players and we discussed a lot of aspects -- but not what some have written.' Van Gaal also blamed the 'crazy world of football' as being the cause of the transfer sagas that surrounded goalkeeper David De Gea and led to Manchester United paying 36 million pounds ($55.5 million) for a teenager. 'The world of football is a crazy world and I cannot change that crazy world,' the 64-year-old Dutchman said. 'There is a market and there is a market price and we cannot have any influence on that price.' United signed 19-year-old French forward Anthony Martial from AS Monaco this month for a fee that could rise to as much as 58 million pounds. 'I said to Ed (Woodward, United's chief executive) he is the best of his age and we need a striker in the future. 'So we can wait a year and he will be 10 million more expensive but now we can build him up and at the right time he can enter in the game.' He also said there was no pressure on Martial to be an instant success at Old Trafford. 'He is 19 years old, he does not have to score, he has to adapt and it is very difficult to adapt. You have seen how (Angel) Di Maria struggled and he was 27 and (Radamel) Falcao and he was 29. 'It is not so easy at Manchester United, the pressure is much higher than at other clubs.'