Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini has hinted that former manager David Moyes was too soft to succeed at Old Trafford.

The Belgium international was brought to the club by Moyes in 2013 for a fee of £27m, although he struggled to make any sort of impact in his maiden campaign with the Premier League giants.

However, since the arrival of Louis van Gaal last summer, Fellaini has grown into one of the Red Devils' most important players as they continue their push for a Champions League spot.

"The coach is very strict, but that's good. We needed such a coach," he told The Mirror. "Last season, we had a bad season. We even missed European qualification. We needed a coach who would put some players' feet back on the ground.

"If [Van Gaal] says something, you should do it. Otherwise you'll fly out of [the team]. If he has to take you off the pitch when the game hasn't been going on for more than 30 minutes, he'll do it. Or during half time. Fortunately, it hasn't happened to me yet.

"Van Gaal told me, 'Prove yourself and we'll see'. The coach gave me confidence and I proved myself in a few matches. After that, I was injured and I got sick. For three weeks I was on antibiotics. It took a while, but now I can finally enjoy things."

Following their 2-1 victory over Liverpool last time out, United find themselves in fourth place in the league table.