"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."
Thursday 27 February 2020 12:04, UK
David Beckham believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves praise for his performance as Manchester United manager and that he shares one key trait with the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.
Under Solskjaer, United are currently fifth in the Premier League, have reached the fifth round of the FA Cup and are in the knockout stages of the Europa League.
Beckham feels Solskjaer will get the backing of the club's supporters because of his achievements at Old Trafford as a player and also because he has replicated Ferguson's philosophy of never publicly criticising his squad.
"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. 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."
Beckham, who was speaking to Sky Sports as part of the launch of the Major League Soccer franchise, Inter Miami, confirmed he remains a committed Manchester United fan.
But he accepts the club was always going to find it difficult to continue winning trophies in the wake of Ferguson's retirement and the departure of several key players.
"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," he said.
"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."
