Maarten Stekelenburg, the Netherlands Under-17 coach, has backed his compatriot Louis van Gaal to live up to expectations at Manchester United.

Van Gaal was on Monday confirmed as the new manager of Manchester United, succeeding David Moyes who was sacked after only 10 months in charge.

“Van Gaal is a great coach and a great manager,” Stekelenburg told Times of Malta, yesterday.

“I think that Manchester United have made a very good decision to appoint Van Gaal as their new manager.”

Stekelenburg, who as youth coach at Ajax worked under Van Gaal when the latter was the club’s technical director, said the new United boss has the experience and knowhow to handle big clubs.

“He has a clear vision on how to lead a team and how to run a club,” Stekelenburg, who has taken his Dutch team to this evening’s UEFA U-17 final, reflected.

“He will do well, I’m sure.

“I’m delighted that he has got this job. I mean it’s a big thing for us as a country and for the Dutch coaches that the manager of our national team will be in charge of a top club like Manchester United.”

Van Gaal will begin his job at Old Trafford after leading the Netherlands in the World Cup finals. The Dutch are in Group B along with reigning champions Spain, Australia and Chile.

“We are in the middle of a process as there are players from the old generation while the new ones are also coming into the squad,” Stekelenburg added.

“I’m hoping that we can compete at that level. As in every tournament, we will need some luck as you can’t be at your best in every game.

“But we have players who can win games, the likes of Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder.”