Manchester United's Tyler Blackett 'Motivated' After Louis van Gaal's Red Card Advice

Manchester United centre-back Tyler Blackett has revealed he had a detailed conversation with Louis van Gaal after he left the team with 10 men on the pitch during the 5-3 defeat against Leicester City.

The 20-year-old was given a straight red card for a challenge on Jamie Vardy, which led striker Leonardo Ulloa to kill the game from the penalty spot – after United threw away a 3-1 advantage.

Blackett served a one-match suspension against West Ham, giving Paddy McNair the chance to secure an impressive debut in the United backline against the Hammers.

He was left on the bench during the 2-1 victory against Everton at the weekend, with McNair taking one of the defensive roles, even though Blackett started the six first Premier League games of the season under Van Gaal.

The manager explained his decision to use McNair instead, claiming he wanted a right-left combination with Marcos Rojo.

"We still have three central defenders [Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and Phil Jones] injured so he [McNair] shall play. He is the only one who can play in the right-sided defensive position. He played very well," Van Gaal said.

Blackett revealed being shown the red card would help him to learn for the future, as would a reaffirming chat with Van Gaal.

"He [Van Gaal] just explained there were other options I could have chosen, rather than bringing the player down. It is definitely something I have learned from and will remember," the centre-back said, according to Manchester United's official website.

Blackett may have a chance to prove his worth in the next game, against West Bromwich Albion, after some reports revealed McNair could be on the sidelines for the next three weeks due to a hamstring injury, joining Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans on the injury list.

Should Blackett have a new chance to recover from his Leicester mistake, he hopes to take the opportunity to continue his first-team dream as he did earlier in the season to earn a place in Van Gaal's plans.

"It does make me feel proud. When you see the club spending money in the transfer window, some players might look at that and think they won't get their chance to impress but I've never felt like that. This club always give young players a chance and I'm hoping to take advantage of that," he said.

"My whole childhood revolved around the game and I always wanted to play professionally. I never had a back-up plan for what I might do if things didn't work out at United. It was always about playing football for me and I was determined to make it happen. It was basically football or nothing, which might have been risky but that was how I saw it. Thankfully, it seems to be working out for me."

"My family have always been really supportive of me and my friends have also been delighted to see me play for the first team. They just want me to keep doing well for myself, which is what I am trying to do. Hopefully, I can make everyone proud."