Paddy Crerand defends Marouane Fellaini

Former Manchester United defender Paddy Crerand has jumped to the defence of Marouane Fellaini.

The Belgian midfielder's injury-enforced absence from the last three United matches has been met with delight from many supporters on social networking sites such as Twitter.

However, Crerand has insisted that Fellaini should be more "appreciated" by the fans.

"He's a good, honest player. Sometimes he's not appreciated. It's only when he's not there that you do appreciate him," the Scot told MUTV.

Fellaini joined the Red Devils from Everton for £28m in September 2013 and he has gone on to make 77 appearances for the club.