Gary Neville has defended Manchester United's owners the Glazers, asking 'what is the alternative?'.

The Glazers, including executive co-chairmen Avram and Joel Glazer, have received a considerable amount of criticism from United supporters since taking over the club in 2005.

They have faced further scrutiny this season, with United in seventh place in the Premier League and having not won the title since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

Gary Neville has jumped to the defence of Manchester United's American owners the Glazers

Manchester United's US co-chairmen Joel Glazer (left) and Avram Glazer (right) have received much criticism from fans

Former United defender Neville, however, has defended the club's American owners and stressed that they will be unfazed by the criticism of them.

Neville told The Times: 'I know the Glazer family, met them probably five times in my life, but whatever Gary Neville says they are not going to do anything. Trust me. They're going to sell when they want to sell.

'They're hardened business people who lived through a campaign of green and gold for two years where the fans were essentially battering them, effigies everywhere and they didn't budge one inch.

'If Gary Neville comes out tomorrow and says 'the Glazer ownership is bad for Manchester United' they'll just shrug their shoulders and say 'there's another one'.'

Neville insists that the Glazers won't be fazed by any of the criticism that they have received

Neville admitted that the Glazers aren't the best owners in football, but claims that the situation isn't as bad as supporters are claiming.

He said: 'And when I was a kid of four, five, I walked into that ground and never once looked over to the directors' box and cared who was in it. Are they [the Glazers] the worst owners in football? No. Are they the best? No.

'If you said to me, some people don't believe Sheikh Mansour [at Manchester City] is a good owner of a football club because of the human rights issues in Abu Dhabi, others would say they have been the most incredible owners, because they have invested into Manchester, into the stadium, into the team.

'I can see both sides of the story, but what I can see is the amazing impact they have made over that side of the city.'

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been linked with a takeover of United

Neville also warned that if the Glazers sell then their successors could also have undesirable aspects of their ownership, with Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman having been linked with purchasing the club.

He said: 'What is the alternative [to the Glazers]? It [the club] is either going to go to a Russian family, Chinese family, Asian family, a Saudi Arabian family. If it gets sold for £3 billion, it is going to be basically people who have £15-20 billion.

'What are they going to be like? Human rights issues of countries I've just mentioned. There is no ideal here.

United have improved of late but there is still much work for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side to do

'The idea of screaming about the Glazers every ten minutes, saying they are not good owners of Manchester United, doesn't get us anywhere. I'd love owners that pump every penny back into the club on to the pitch, that didn't take out £20 million a year, or whatever they take out in debt against the club. But I can't do anything about it.

'Just stand there and campaign and whinge? Stand on the front of Old Trafford in front of Best, Law and Charlton with my placard up saying 'Glazers out'. I'm not going to do that because I haven't got the solution.'

United have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes of late, winning five of their last six games, but there is still much work for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side to do in order to challenge for a spot in the top four of the Premier League.