Van Gaal was sacked as Manchester United manager on Monday. We look at all the Premier League coaches who have left their posts this season.
Read more: Jose Mourinho to Manchester United – All the news and updates
Click on the arrows to view the next photo or just swipe on your mobile device
Dick Advocaat (Sunderland)
The Dutchman had saved Sunderland from relegation last season as interim boss after taking over in March and eventually opted to come back for another season after initially deciding to retire. It proved a bad decision as, frustrated by lack of investment in the squad, he resigned on October 4 with the Black Cats in the relegation zone after an eight-match winless run.
Steve Luckings: A surprise Dick Advocaat took so long to jump from Sunderland's sinking ship
Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool)
Failure to deliver a single piece of silverware since arriving from Swansea City in 2012 eventually proved Rodgers’ downfall. After coming agonisingly close to winning the Premier League in 2014, Liverpool regressed dramatically and Rodgers paid the price on October 4 when he was axed following a lacklustre draw in the Merseyside derby against Everton.
Read more: Celtic hire Brendan Rodger, giving 'delighted' ex-Liverpool manager his second life
Tim Sherwood (Aston Villa)
Sherwood took charge of Villa back in February 2015 following the departure of Paul Lambert and initially looked a good appointment after saving the club from relegation and leading them to the FA Cup final. But the former Tottenham Hotspur boss was sacked on October 25 after a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Swansea, a sixth straight top-flight defeat, left the club bottom of the table.
Greg Lea: Signs not good for Aston Villa's survival hopes but it's not too late to turn season around
Garry Monk (Swansea City)
Hired in February 2014, the former Swansea defender earned plaudits for leading his team to a club best eighth-placed finish in the Premier League last season. However, the 36-year-old couldn’t maintain that momentum and he was dismissed on December 9 after just one win in 12 league and cup games, with a 3-0 defeat at home to Leicester City proving the final straw.
Read more: Swansea City sack Garry Monk after slump in Premier League results
Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
By far the most high-profile casualty of this season’s sack race, Mourinho was sent packing on December 17 after a 2-1 defeat at Leicester days earlier left last season’s champions one point above the relegation zone. After months of rumours that Mourinho was unsuccessfully trying to quell a dressing room mutiny from players unhappy with his tough management style, Chelsea confirmed that “palpable discord” between manager and squad had been the decisive factor in his exit.
Ali Khaled: Frank Lampard in Dubai: 'It's not a conspiracy' why Chelsea sacked Jose Mourinho
Steve McClaren (Newcastle United)
The former England manager’s nine-month spell in charge ended in March after several days of speculation he would be sacked following a 3-1 home defeat by Bournemouth that left the side second-bottom in the table and with just 10 games remaining in which to preserve their Premier League status.
Read more: Newcastle 'apologise' after taking 'a number of days' to decide sacked Steve McClaren's fate
Remi Garde (Aston Villa)
Although Garde was recommended to Villa by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, the former Lyon coach didn’t come close to justifying his compatriot’s faith. He notched just two wins from 20 league matches in a miserable four-month reign. By the time Garde departed by mutual consent, Villa were 12 points adrift of safety and destined for relegation to the second tier for the first time in 29 years.
Greg Lea: Relegation worries – Same old story for Newcastle as Aston Villa in desperate need of coach
Roberto Martinez (Everton)
Just one win in Everton’s last 10 games was enough to convince the club’s hierarchy that Martinez had to go as fans began to show their disdain for the Spaniard. Martinez, who had initially made a good impression after his arrival from Wigan Athletic in 2013, was dismissed after a woeful 3-0 defeat at Sunderland left Everton 12th in the Premier League and his reputation significantly tarnished.
Read more: Romelu Lukaku says 'broken' relationship with Everton players led to Roberto Martinez sacking
Quique Sanchez Flores (Watford)
Given he’d achieved the pre-season target set for him of keeping the Hornets in the Premier League – without the stress of a relegation battle – as well as guiding the team to an FA Cup semi-final, Sanchez Flores’s exit said more about the club’s owners, the Pozzo family, who are now looking for their seventh full-time manager since taking charge in June 2012, than it did about the Spaniard.
Read more: 'We're delighted to secure him as head coach': Walter Mazzarri to lead Watford
Louis van Gaal (Manchester United)
The champagne corks had barely started popping to celebrate United’s first major silverware since 2013 when van Gaal learnt that his two-year reign at Old Trafford was about to come to a premature end. Having led 10-man United to a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, van Gaal hoped he had saved his job, but the Dutchman’s failure to secure Champions League qualification proved fatal.