Man Utd boss Solskjaer backed by Beckham

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is "doing a good job" at Old Trafford, according to club great David Beckham.

Solskjaer – in his first full season at the helm having initially replaced Jose Mourinho on an interim basis in December 2018 – has overseen a topsy-turvy campaign, with United languishing fifth in the Premier League.

United have beaten Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Leicester City this season, and drawn with runaway leaders Liverpool, but the Red Devils are still three points adrift of the Champions League places.

Despite United's struggles, Beckham – who played alongside Solskjaer at the Theatre of Dreams – praised the Norwegian boss.

"I think he's doing a good job," Beckham told Sky Sports. "The fact that he's stepped in and stepped up, and that he continues to be positive about players, he's got that from the boss [Alex Ferguson]. He would never criticise a player from his club and Ole has been exactly the same.

"He's still learning but he will protect his players and protect Manchester United. All of the fans will be behind him because he's a great person and because of what he's done for Manchester United over the years."

United have struggled since Alex Ferguson retired after guiding the club to Premier League glory in 2012-13.

Only twice have United finished in the top four – in 2015 and 2018 – following Ferguson's exit as David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have come and gone.

Bitter rivals Liverpool are 22 points clear atop the table and 38 ahead of United as they close in on their first league crown since 1990 and Beckham – now co-owner of MLS expansion side Inter Miami – said: "I think when you're a club as big as Manchester United and you've had the amount of success that we had, there was always going to be a period where other clubs have some success.

"When that success is being had by Manchester City or Liverpool it's always going to be talked about. There was always going to be a transition period, especially when Alex Ferguson stepped down.

"You had David Gill working at the club too and the players stopped playing, Giggsy [Ryan Giggs], Scholesy [Paul Scholes] and the Nevs [Gary and Phil Neville], they all stopped playing so there was always going to be a period when they weren't as successful.

"Is it hard to watch them now? No because I'm a real Manchester United fan and whatever the situation, I love watching them play. But let's hope it doesn't last for too much longer that we go without trophies because we are one of the biggest clubs in the world and not many clubs have that tradition."