Gary Neville has jumped to the defence of Manchester United following criticism from former manager Louis van Gaal.

Van Gaal got himself into the headlines with comments that the current United side, coached by Jose Mourinho, plays more 'boring' football.

"I would rather watch City play than United," Van Gaal told the Mirror. "You need quality in a squad and it's clear City have a better squad.

"If you ask me how did I do at United, I will say it was my best year ever, given the circumstances I was working under.

"We played football that was quite all right. But it's not football that is appreciated in England.

"And yet, right now, looking at United, I have to conclude Mourinho is not being criticised while it's far more boring football.

"What United produce now is defensive football. I always played attacking football. The proof is that the opposition were always parking the bus.

"They don't do that now because Jose Mourinho plays so defensive."

The comments received a lot of response from United fans, mostly being labelled deluded by those who watched Van Gaal's side.

The Dutchman was heavily criticised throughout his tenure as being unimaginative - an accusation that Van Gaal has faced at every club he's managed.

Now Gary Neville, in his column on skysports.com, has spoken up for Mourinho's side.

"I've only read reports about Louis van Gaal's quotes on United's style but my personal view is that the football under Jose Mourinho is going in a better direction," said Neville.

"Also, in terms of results, Jose has won a European trophy and has the team second in the league, so he's also more successful.

"United are getting better and there is going to be some patience required. The team he picked for the Manchester derby was positive but I just think they lacked belief.

"I think Jose has done a very good job over the last 18 months but his biggest problem is the way City are playing."

Despite believing that the club is heading in a positive direction, Neville isn't entirely happy with how things are going. His column continues to dissect United in the aftermath of their humbling by neighbours Manchester City, questioning the recruitment since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.

"The natural thing for people to say now is that United need more players but what I'd like to see is the current players deliver more," Neville continued.

"United have spent £75m on left-backs but have Ashley Young playing there. Three of the back four on Sunday were at the club under Sir Alex.

"You can talk about buying but the recruitment has to be better. I think Jose's has been better than Van Gaal's, but for all the money that was spent on the midfield there was a lack of quality on Sunday and that's not right."

United currently sit 11 points behind their local rivals after the 2-1 defeat on Sunday.