He's very honest with the media... that's interesting' - Ferguson runs the rule over Van Gaal

The former Manchester United boss says the Dutchman once asked for advice on dealing with the press during his time at Barcelona, and is now intrigued by his openness

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he finds Louis van Gaal's honesty with the media "interesting", and has backed the Dutchman to succeed at Old Trafford.

Ferguson, who retired in May 2013, had a number of run-ins with the British press during his successful 27 years in charge of United, in which he won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and the Champions League twice.

Van Gaal has also had a chequered history with journalists, particularly in his first spell at Barcelona between 1997 and 2000, a time when he actually asked the Scot for advice on how to handle the scrutiny.

"I've always got on well with Louis," he told MUTV. "We met several times when he was with Barcelona. In 1998 we were in the [Champions League] group stage together and he asked me about dealing with the press. I had a few things about that!

"He had a different approach to the press at that time and my advice was don't read it and don't get upset about it. He has his own way. I think watching his press conferences are quite interesting, he's very, very honest in his press conferences, which is interesting."

Ferguson says he has spoken to Van Gaal on a couple of occasions since the Dutchman took the reigns at Old Trafford following the World Cup.

"There's no ongoing dialogue, he comes into my office sometimes after the game, to have a chat, it's not a matter of picking up the phone and phoning him," he added. "He's very capable, a strong personality, he knows where I am if he ever did need me but there's not been any need for him to phone me.

"Louis has made a lot of changes and, thinking about that, actually maybe he’s doing the right thing, to clear the decks and build his own team because he’s got the experience and coaching ability to do that. The way he’s approached it I think has been brilliant.

"He'd not got the results that were expected, but when I came to the club I didn't get the results. He's been through that a bit. There's no doubt in my mind he will sort it out."

David Moyes was the man hand-picked by Ferguson as his successor back in 2013, but the former Everton boss was sacked inside his first season in Manchester after a string of poor results and performances.

Ferguson did not discuss his countryman's short reign during a 30-minute interview with the club's in-house television channel, but did admit he was unhappy with some of the campaign's most defining matches.

"I got annoyed last year when we lost to Liverpool," he said. "I didn't enjoy that, losing to Liverpool and Manchester City, because they're our biggest rivals, they are the ones. They will always strive to defeat us, particularly Liverpool of course."

The 72-year-old also admitted he is wary of expressing too much emotion while watching the game from the stands at Old Trafford: "The way I've always been, I'm actually quite stoney-faced watching a game, I don't like to show emotion, unless we're scoring a goal. You're always concious that the cameras are on you, too. The press don't miss an opportunity to focus on you during a game."