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Peter Schmeichel believes Manchester United’s confidence has taken a nosedive – but is convinced Louis van Gaal will eventually turn things around.

And the United legend wants fans to stand by the Dutch coach, even if the club once again fails to qualify for the Champions League.

Van Gaal’s regime has got off to a terrible start with two defeats and two draws from his opening four games in charge.

Schmeichel, who won five Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the Champions League in his eight years at Old Trafford, wants the 63-year-old to be given more time than his predecessor David Moyes, who was sacked 11 months after replacing Sir Alex Ferguson.

But he admitted: “I’m as disgruntled about our start as everyone else.

“The players lost a lot of confidence and belief in themselves. Last season, after winning the championship the year before, they went from one extreme to another.

“But I know Van Gaal can deliver.

(Image: Clive Brunskill)

“Time and patience must be given to the team and to him and to his philosophy. He has a plan with everything he does. He has proven himself time and again.

“He even won things with AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands which is like Norwich winning the championship. And when he was at Ajax he showed he has the same philosophy as the United one.”

The Old Trafford outfit are 14th in the league with two points after three matches and were humiliatingly thrashed 4-0 by League One side MK Dons in the Capital One Cup.

The board have backed Van Gaal by spending over £150 million this summer – with Daley Blind and Radamel Falcao arriving on transfer deadline day – but Schmeichel thinks it won’t matter if they again miss out on the Champions League.

“I am a United fan and I’d be quite happy to finish outside the top four,” he explained. “As long as we were going in the right direction. If the United culture was continuing in that we were playing entertaining football and winning games.

“Other fans might not be happy but for me these things don’t happen overnight.

“We’ve brought in seven players and he’s letting other players go. This is not what I and other Manchester United fans are used to.

Manchester United transfers, ins and outs:

“People talk about the end of an Old Trafford tradition with homegrown players going but that’s just the way football is.

“There’s a lot of sentiment about this, with people saying that’s not what Sir Matt (Busby) and Sir Alex (Ferguson) did. But football now is all about money and a quick fix. The Premier League is such a strong league and United can’t afford to be left behind.”

The former Danish international keeper thinks Falcao’s season-long loan deal from Monaco was a great deal.

He said: “It’s a very shrewd piece of business. I’m not sure where Wayne Rooney will play, and I can’t wait to find out when I watch our next game against QPR.

“Falcao at Old Trafford is a great signal to send to the rest of the footballing world. It shows United still attract the world’s best players.”

*Peter Schmeichel was speaking at the Manchester United Flagship Barclays Spaces for Sports site, the Old Trafford Sports Barn, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Barclays Spaces for Sports programme. The programme is a £60m partnership between Barclays and the Football Foundation and has developed 200 community sports sites across the UK, supporting more than 40 different sports, since it was launched in 2004.

Spaces for Sports is part of Barclays’ commitment to change five million young futures - Barclays’ goal to build the next generation of global achievers by enabling them to develop enterprise, employability and financial skills

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