Gary Neville has defended new Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from criticism by Louis van Gaal, claiming the Dutchman produced the worst football he has ever seen at Old Trafford.
Van Gaal had criticised Solskjaer, accusing him of setting up to ‘park the bus’ rather than attack teams.
But Neville hit back, insisting: ‘I saw Louis van Gaal the other day say that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s football is like Jose Mourinho’s but winning. Van Gaal’s football at Man Utd was the worst I’ve ever seen and Mourinho’s was far better, even though it wasn’t acceptable in terms of what the fans want to see.
‘We’ve had a lot of change at the club in the last four or five years with different managers coming in, world-class managers and it hasn’t worked. Ole has brought a level of happiness and excitement back to the fans, which is at least something because it has been difficult to watch over the last three or four years.’
Former goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who with Neville and Solskjaer won multiple trophies at United, believes the new manager has given the fans something to believe in again.
‘It is a great appointment,’ he said. ‘It’s exciting watching Manchester United. It’s back. It’s been gone for a little bit.
‘You’re excited to go and watch some of the players that are performing so well now under Ole, that didn’t perform so well under the previous managers.’