Wesley Sneijder says Louis Van Gaal must be given time to get his message across because when he does, Manchester United will be the envy of Europe.
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The Dutch coach has had a difficult start to life at Old Trafford with two draws and a defeat from his first three Premier League games and an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to MK Dons in the League Cup.
His first few months in charge of Bayern Munich were equally difficult with just one win from his first four Bundesliga matches as he kept insisting it would take time for his concept to deliver results.
He was given that time and went on to win a league and cup double at the end of his first season, losing in the final of the Champions League to Inter Milan. Sneijder, 30, has advised the Red Devils to show the same patience Bayern did if they want similar results.
"It was predictable -- with all the pressure he is under, any problems become huge immediately," said Sneijder to La Gazzetta dello Sport. "That's the way things are in England -- it doesn't take long for you to be criticised.
"Van Gaal is a tough guy and if you don't know him, he can come across as being unfriendly, but given time, he always earns appreciation. I had problems with him to begin with, but come the end of the World Cup, I got on great with him.
"Van Gaal needs to work a lot to get his concepts across. You'll see -- in three months' time, United will be playing fantastic football."
While Sneijder ultimately enjoyed working under Van Gaal, he says he is not his favourite coach overall.
"That's [Marco] Van Basten -- I was crazy about him," Sneijder continued. "Euro 2008 was special, maybe because it was the first tournament I was really involved in. I liked the atmosphere, his way of working and his ideas.
"We played fantastic football. Van Basten was one of the best players in history, yet he still has the desire to learn and that's how he was as national team coach."
Van Basten is currently taking a break from coaching AZ Alkmaar due to health concerns following his father's death in July.