Darren Fletcher thinks Steve McManaman, who branded the current Manchester United side the worst he had seen in 20 years, will be eating a large portion of humble pie come the end of the season.
McManaman laid into United following their 2-1 defeat to Swansea on the opening day of the season.
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid man claimed Louis van Gaal possesses the worst United squad he had ever seen in two decades.
Fletcher thinks McManaman, and United's other critics, have been desperate to take pot shots at the club as a consequence of their recent success.
And the United vice-captain thinks the former England international will be eating his words at the end of May.
"People have been waiting for an opportunity to have a go at United for years and this is the perfect time (to do it)," the midfielder said.
"It's a long season and I don't think they will be saying those things at the end of it. I believe we're going to have a very good season.
"All the players believe that too. Comments like that give us a greater determination, without a shadow of a doubt."
Van Gaal has lost experienced heads like Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra from his squad.
But the Scotland ace thinks the players that remain are strong enough personalities to fill the void.
He said: "People talk about the players that have left but I see it in the eyes of the young players, they're ready for it and determined to show people how good they are and we're determined to show people how good the team are.
"You have to be a big character to play for this club."
Wayne Rooney equalised for United following ex-Celtic ace Ki Sung-yueng's opener with an overhead kick from short-range.
But the striker's first outing as captain ended up being one to forget thanks to Gylfi Sigurdsson's 72nd- minute winner.
Rooney admitted it was a far from ideal way to start the season, but the striker trusts Van Gaal to pick the team up in the coming days.
"This is a really bad result for us, but we will learn, especially with the manager we have got," Rooney said.
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