Solskjaer offers Anderson backing

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes under-fire Anderson will win over his critics by finally coming good for Manchester United. Anderson has been heavily criticised for a string of average performances which have seen him regularly dropped from Sir Alex Ferguson's starting Xl. Failing to prove himself after his £18million switch from Porto two years ago, the 21-year-old has been forced to settle for a string of substitute or reserve appearances. However, Solskjaer believes the youngster will soon put his poor spell behind him and prove his worth at Old Trafford as he did during his first season with the club. The reserve coach spoke of his admiration for a determined Anderson, who scored for the second string against Wigan earlier this week when answering his boss' call to work harder for his place. "Ando has shown his qualities and attitude," Solskjaer told the Manchester Evening News. "Now it is a case of him taking his chance when he gets it and putting down a marker to stay in the team. "He is going to be a big player for Manchester United." Rumours of a row between player and manager have not helped Anderson in his quest to bounce back to first team action. Though Ferguson himself has denied any bust-up, the Brazilian is still keen to show he is capable of more, especially after a promising first season with the club. Solskjaer added: "It was all glory for him in the first season, but then you sometimes get a bit of a reaction to that. It happens to a lot of players. "But with Cristiano Ronaldo gone, we need players like Anderson to step up and say 'here is what all the talk was about when you signed me.' "It is always going to be a big challenge at United to get a place in the first team. "No player at United is going to step aside and say 'here you take my place.' "You have to fight for it and he is more than capable of doing that as he is proving."