Louis van Gaal said that is is a great time to be a Manchester United supporter after they crushed Manchester City 4-2 at Old Trafford on Sunday . United moved four points clear of their cross-city rivals in third place in the Premier League and now look set for a return to the Champions League . Van Gaal '' s side had looked out of position all season with a string of unconvincing displays , but in recent weeks they have blown away Tottenham , Liverpool and now Manchester City . Louis van Gaal thanked Manchester United supporters for their patience after Sunday 's derby win . United thrashed Manchester City 4-2 at Old Trafford to move four points clear of them in third place . The Dutch manager thanked supporters for their patience when results were going against the team at the start of the season . He said : ' 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 it started very bad . 'But still they were supporting , and now the results are coming back . It 's great to be a supporter of Manchester United right now . 'We are four points ahead of the fourth place in the table and I am very happy for the fans because I have seen what it meant to them when the results were not so good . ' The Dutch manager said that it is a great time to be a Manchester United supporter right now . Van Gaal was looking forward to toasting the biggest victory of his United career at his favourite Chinese restaurant in Manchester . ' I can go to Mr Wing 's ( restaurant ) tonight , because you can do that when you win , ' Van Gaal said . 'When you lose , the fans say what is Mr Louis doing because he loses and goes out to the best restaurant . This afternoon is maybe the best feeling ( since coming to United ) . 'It was not the best performance , because we started very badly , but we regained our confidence , scored the goals and the second half was fantastic . 'At the start of the season it was not fantastic to be a United man and the fans still have supported us . Marouane Fellaini heads Manchester United in front during the first half having initially trailed . 'This week they can go on the streets , heads up and say : 'We are the better team because goal average ( over the two derbies ) is in our favour ' . ' Van Gaal called the victory a 'fantastic result ' but criticised himself for leaving his side with 10 men following Michael Carrick 's late injury . 'It is a fantastic result and I must bring Carrick off the pitch at 4-1 because he was injured . 'It was a little bit stupid of me because I want to give all my players minutes who are working very hard . 'Some of my players did not know we had 10 men because the crowd was yelling . 'Wayne ( Rooney ) did know because he was the holding midfielder as did Ashley Young , but the rest was difficult . ' Van Gaal 's side have now won their last four league matches - against Tottenham , Liverpool , Aston Villa and Manchester City - since being knocked out of the FA Cup to Arsenal and a top-four spot and Champions League qualification now looks within their grasp . Michael Carrick hobbles off late in the game on Sunday at Old Trafford after picking up an injury . 'We have made big steps in the last six games but the defeat to Arsenal was very difficult for my team to stand up and maintain our confidence in the philosophy , ' Van Gaal said . 'But all credit to the players because they have to do it under the expectation of the fans . 'We started very badly and we were not the Manchester United we have seen in the last matches . ' I do n't know why we were nervous but we could not get pressure on the ball in the beginning , but then we scored and from that moment there was more confidence in my team . 'We started to develop our pace and game plan and the second half was much better than the first half , and until the moment Michael goes off the pitch we were fantastic . ' Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini fended off questions about his own future after an eighth defeat for his team in all competitions since the turn of the year . Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini fended off questions about his future at the Etihad . ' I do n't think what happens to me is the most important thing , ' Pellegrini said . ' I will continue working and try to be as near as the top of the table as we can . 'We played very well for the first 20 minutes and had two or three more clear chances to score , but the moment they scored they grew and started playing better and we made mistakes for two of their goals . 'Maybe the third goal was offside and something similar happened in the last game but I 'm not talking about referees . '
Manchester United beat Manchester City four-2 at Old Trafford . Louis van Gaal thanks United fans for their patience . United now 4 points ahead of City in third place in Premier League . Van Gaal endured tough start to the season with a loss at home to Swansea on the opening day and a four-0 defeat by MK Dons .