David Beckham has come under a blistering attack from Los Angeles Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan just as he prepares to return for action with the Major League football team.

In a new book due out later this month, Donovan claims Beckham has demonstrated little commitment to the Galaxy cause and been a negative influence on the team since the ousting of former coach Ruud Gullit.

"All that we care about at a minimum is that he committed himself to us," Donovan says in 'The Beckham Experiment', authored by Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl. "As time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways - on the field, off the field."

He continued: "Does the fact that he earns that much more money come into it? Yeah. If someone's paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you are suspended or not. Show up and train hard, show up and play hard."

Donovan, who is the United States captain and wears the Galaxy armband in Beckham's absence, also questioned the former England skipper's leadership abilities, claiming he is too often silent in team meetings.

"Maybe he's not a leader, maybe he's not a captain," he said. "Fair enough. But at a minimum, you should bust your ass every day. That hasn't happened. And I don't think that's too much for us to expect. Especially when he's brought all this on us."

Beckham's first season in MLS was a largely miserable experience as an unbalanced Galaxy team struggled all year and missed out on the play-offs, with Gullit quitting before the end of the campaign.

Gullit's departure, which came a little over a month after Beckham's Galaxy debut, is the moment Donovan believes the light went out for the club's marquee player.

"When David first came, I believed he was committed to what he was doing," Donovan said. "He cared. He wanted to do well. He wanted the team and the league to do well.

"Somewhere along the way - and in my mind it coincides with Ruud being let go - he just flipped a switch and said, 'Uh-huh, I'm not doing it anymore'."