Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he is "very disappointed" with Manchester United in the post-Alex Ferguson era, adding that they "need to pull themselves together".

The Norwegian, who is managing Molde in Norway after a spell in charge of Cardiff City, spent 11 years at United between 1996 and 2007 and won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and, most famously, a European Cup.

However, United have not won the league since Ferguson left in 2013 and are currently fifth in the table and lost to the Danish side FC Midtjylland in the Europa League last week.

“I am very disappointed in the quality over the past few years,” Solskjaer told Olof Lundh’s podcast at fotbollskanalen.se. “We knew it would be tough after the Ferguson era but we have not managed to keep the enthusiasm and the entertaining, attacking football. It is very tough to see Manchester City managing to get Pep Guardiola [as their new manager] and sign the biggest stars in Europe. I am a big fan of Guardiola and his philosophy and all his teams. So now United have to pull themselves together. They are heading for a very difficult time.”

Solskjaer is not the only former United player to criticise the team and their style of play over the past three years and said he is not surprised that others, such as Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand, have been vociferous in their comments when it comes to Louis van Gaal and his players.

“We are used to winning. We are used to finishing first. We are used to entertaining the fans. If we finished second it was a disappointing season, now the talk is about finishing fourth. It is undignifying for a club like Manchester United.”

The Norweigan, who says he would like to manage Manchester United one day but admits he has a 0.00001% chance of doing so, added: "I think Van Gaal will stay for three years. It is a plan and a process and I am 100% sure he will stay for three years. Ryan Giggs is the most likely former player to manage the club. He has Manchester United DNA in his body."

(Guardian service)