Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville can understand manager Sir Alex Ferguson not buying in January.

Neville has praised Fergie for not panicking and splashing out in order to boost his depleted squad.

"I've never seen it work where a player comes in January, signs for big money and settles before the start of next season," Neville told the Manchester Evening News.

"To go into the market in January you never get full value, people think you're desperate so ask for more. Sir Alex has never been one to panic. You're signing a player now and he needs to get used to the club.

"Potentially if he's coming from abroad you need to get used to a new league.

"You never quite get the players you want as all the top teams want to keep the best players.

"They've had a lot of injuries, but that's not an excuse because the reason you have a big squad at a big club is you're able to cope with it.

"They need to get some players back to get a consistent back four because I think problems at times have been caused by not having a consistent back four and a bit of uncertainty at the back."