Gary Neville has branded Louis van Gaal's football as the worst he's seen at Manchester United, following the Dutchman's criticism of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Van Gaal, who lasted two seasons at Old Trafford, said earlier this week that Solskjaer's brand of football was exactly like the same as predecessor Jose Mourinho.

United hero Neville told Sky Sports : "Let's be clear, Man United have still got a long way to go before they get back to being anywhere near where they should be and I don't think today is a time to start thinking that Manchester United are going to win the league in the next 10 minutes.

"It has been an unhappy place for four or five seasons so I think the first thing is getting the fans excited to be going to the games again.

"In the last two or three months, I've felt excited by what I've seen for the first time in a while - the atmosphere in the ground has returned, the joy on the fans' faces, the away following has connected with the team again.

"The players have upped their game so I think this is phase one, to get the club happy again and that's where it's at.

"There is a lot of hard work still to do in the coming months and years to get Man United back to where it was before.

"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 United 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."