Manchester United striker Robin van Persie believes that manager David Moyes deserves time to settle into life at Old Trafford.

The Scotsman has been under pressure since taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired from management at the end of last season following 27 glittering years with the club.

The North-West outfit are already out of the FA Cup and are currently seventh in the Premier League table, 11 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

"Moyes needs time, he's new," BBC Sport quotes Van Persie as saying. "The manager is our leading man and he will change things around.

"We lost too many points this year, but we are doing everything we can to change that."

There are suggestions that United will be completely out of the title race if they lose to Chelsea this Sunday.