REUTERS – Manchester United are different from the successful side under former boss Alex Ferguson but they are anything but boring, West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has said ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Louis van Gaal’s men.

United have been criticised by former players Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand, who think the club are playing ‘dull’ and ‘boring’ soccer under Van Gaal.

Bilic pointed to United’s impressive run of results, which has seen them rise to third in the table just one point behind leaders Manchester City, as proof of an effective side.

“I don’t find them boring — they are hard to beat,” Bilic told reporters on Thursday. “I watch them a lot and every game they have more chances and more ball possession than the opponent and in every game the opponent has only one or two chances.

“They’re different from the Alex Ferguson era where they were quicker, more electric and bombarding the box. They are winning and not conceding goals.

“You can say that United are different from before, especially at home where opponents are now defending with numbers behind the ball, very compact and very deeply.

“With this being the case, United cannot play more direct or at a higher tempo. We can call it controlled football, we can call it patient football but so far it is very effective because they are in a good position in the league.”

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)