Louis van Gaal has warned Gary Neville to "pay attention to his words" after the former Manchester United defender said Sunday's clash with Liverpool could slip to the standard of a match between two pub teams.
Van Gaal criticised Neville, his own players and fellow Dutchman Ronald Koeman after his side's 2-1 Premier League victory at Southampton on Monday.
Neville, who won 15 major honours as a United player and now works as a television analyst, claimed Robin Van Persie's brace meant United "got away with murder" at St Mary's and tipped Sunday's clash at Old Trafford to be "like the Dog and Duck vs. the Red Lion."
Van Gaal responded to reporters when told about England coach Neville's comments: "The former player of United? That's an English expression? Hmm... maybe [United did get away with murder].
"He can say everything because he is an ex-legend, but as an ex-legend, or a legend, you have to know what you are saying.
"You can interpret... Make an interpretation of that. It's not so difficult to make an interpretation, when I say he has to pay attention to his words."
United leapfrogged Southampton into third place thanks to their fifth-straight victory, with Van Gaal hailing Van Persie's "best performance" this term.
The former Barcelona boss then laid into the majority of his players for below-par performances, but stopped short of singling out those who came up short.
"Robin had a great influence on the result," Van Gaal said. "Until now that is his best performance.
"Too many players were not good. There was a range of course between good and bad, but they were not good. There were too many players in that range who were not good, I believe."