Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is calling on his former club to give Ajax boss Erik ten Hag the 'support' he needs to achieve success.
The Dutchman appears to be edging closer to the managerial vacancy at Old Trafford this week with the Red Devils reportedly close to appointing him.
Talks are underway with Ajax to secure the terms for his release with United paying compensation of just over £1.6million to secure his services.
The 52-year-old has reportedly won the battle with PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino, ending a near six-month search to appoint a permanent replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It is likely that the Red Devils will announce him as the new manager before the end of the season, ready to replace current interim boss Ralf Rangnick, as soon as the campaign comes to an end.
Ferdinand, however, insists whoever is appointed whether it is ten Hag or anyone else that has been linked with the job they must be given support.
'Ten Hag if he is the guy that does come in, we're hearing reports saying it might be,' Ferdinand said on BT Sport prior to United's clash with Everton.
'Listen, I don't think there is any candidate out there that is being talked about and you go, he's the guy.
'He's definitely going to give us an opportunity to get back to winning or challenging at all right now.
'I just think he needs support, he is someone that needs a framework around him, in order to be able to execute.
'I'm talking about behind the scenes, recruitment etc. then he needs to provide the foundations for the framework around the team.'
Ferdinand who was part of a trophy-laden spell at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson knows United have to build something similar to catch up the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
'He needs to build a culture, you look at the man Sir Alex Ferguson, what he done here.
'He built a culture over many years and he had lots of support over that time. He built a culture, managers nowadays have to do it much quicker.
'Look at Pep (Guardiola) and Jurgen Klopp it has took them a couple of years to build that culture and implement that.
'This manager will need that time, but he has to show the signs from early on to do that.'
Former Manchester City and Everton centre-back Joleon Lescott feels patience will be key for ten Hag in order to bring success back to Old Trafford.
'It's about patience, it's a thing that Man United as a club, players and staff are not used to having because they've always had success. Now it's a period to be patient in this process.
'He could be the manager that brings them back to glory. In regards to the patient element, I don't think they're any closer to winning the title until Pep and Klopp leave their teams.'
Lescott added: 'It's a results based business, we know that, but what I am saying is they need to change their approach as they haven't had success doing it the way that they wanted to do it in recent years, wanting to get back to challenging for titles, and looking for quick fixes.
'They need to put pieces in place that allow them to compete in two to three seasons.
'As painful as that may sound to United fans, that's the reality of it all.'