A smile grew on the experienced face of Louis van Gaal as he happily spoke of Manchester United's chance of finishing above local rivals Manchester City in third place.
The Dutchman was quick to thank the United fans who haven't always seen the best performances this season but were treated to a dominating 4-2 win over their rivals at Old Trafford on Sunday evening.
"It's three points! We are four points ahead of fourth in the table and I am very happy for the fans. I have seen what it means for them. They always support us when the results were not good.
"It's the best atmosphere I have seen here. A fantastic result. I must bring Michael Carrick off the pitch with an injury which was a bit stupid from me as some players didn't know we only had 10 men. That was not so smart!"
After beating Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa by handsome margins and playing brilliantly, the start United had was unexpected as Sergio Aguero got his 99th City goal with a tap in within 10 minutes.
"We started very badly." van Gaal said. "It was not Manchester United, we were very nervous. I don't know why. We had no pressure on the ball. I don't know why. But when we scored the goal, from that moment we had more confidence. The second half was much better."
Goals from the rejuvenated pairing of Marouane Fellaini and Ashley Young as well as Juan Mata and Chris Smalling gave United their first win over City since December 2012.
"I'm very proud and very happy for the fans. It means a lot for the fans and we want to give it to the fans. The players heard the boost from the crowd.
"We are now four points ahead of City in third place which is very important because it gets you automatic qualification into the Champions League. We started badly, there was a lot of stress building up and because of that we went 1-0 behind. But we have good team spirit and came back. The second half was fantastic.
"Against Tottenham and Liverpool, I was talking about the first half, but now I am speaking about the second half performance. We are making steps in our process and it's too early to expect it (the perfect performance). The goal we set was to get into the first four and I'll be very pleased if we reach that goal. I said it would not be easy and we still have six matches to play. It is not done yet but we are on our way."
"I was very pleased because the fans are pleased and we are playing for them. The fans have not always had a good time because started very bad. But still they were supporting, and now the results are coming back. It's great to be a supporter of Man United right now.
"That is the most pleasant memory - you have seen the arousal of the fans. I cannot complain about the fighting spirit of my team because the first 15 minutes Manchester City dominated and scored. We equalised and regained confidence and then from there we played a fantastic match. Of course I think maybe we could have started this form earlier but the last 20 matches we've been good and better than most of the Premier League."