Sir Alex Ferguson has left Moyes with one of his greatest teams: Gary Neville

Gary Neville, former Manchester United captain, has expressed his belief that Sir Alex Ferguson has made David Moyes’s job as the new manager a little easier, as he has left him with one of the four greatest teams that he has overseen during his 26-year tenure at Old Trafford.

Although he doesn’t believe the current Red Devils match up to the squads from 1994, 1999 and 2008, Neville believes they are nevertheless on a journey to the top level of the Premier League.

He said during an interview with the official Manchester United website, “When you’re at Manchester United and you’ve had a manager who has built four great teams – ’94, ’99, 2008 and you can now argue this one that has won the league – people are always going to compare teams.”

Ferguson’s retirement has brought in one of the most significant summers of recent years – and not just for United. It has given the rest of the clubs a chance to strike while the iron is still hot. Neville strongly believes that this wouldn’t hinder the defending champions and insists that they will try and raise the bar that they had set previously with Alex Ferguson.

‘That is a challenge in itself and ultimately the players and David Moyes will need to respond to that. It won’t be a bed of roses – there will be ups and downs as there always is and there has been over the last 26 or so years”, he said.

‘There will be pressure moments in the coming season when people will say ‘it’s not the same’ but it’s too easy to say that.

‘Everybody is waiting to see how this post-Sir Alex Ferguson era is going to work.”