The pressure from fans and the media has lifted somewhat on Manchester United manager David Moyes after a 1 - 0 over Liverpool in the Capital One Cup last night.
Critical knives were being sharpened in certain quarters after the 4 - 1 defeat to City in the derby and criticism could have reached a crescendo had the Reds lost to their rivals from Merseyside.
But Javier Hernandez' second half winner settled last night's contest.
Immediately after the game, the lads spoke to Tim Rich of the Independent to get his take on the game and whether the calls for Shinji Kagawa to start regularly may be premature.
Firstly Rich felt Moyes' response to the derby defeat three days ago was positive.
"He played it pretty well. Had he trusted the kids against Liverpool and lost, then he would have given us in the press some easy headlines. The most important thing is he won, although given the fact that Liverpool forced about a dozen corners at Old Trafford - I can't remember the last time they did that - they've come through by a slender margin."
Rich believes there is sufficient depth in Man United's squad. But for him the "most interesting" figure is Kagawa.
The attacking midfielder was given a start last night, although he started on the left. However, like Jurgen Klopp, Rich believes that the Japanese attacking midfielder should be given a central berth behind the main striker.
"He is under massive pressure. He has 10 individual sponsors back in Japan and they all demand that he plays every game. Kagawa played today and he had some great touches. He hit the bar and then he was taken off. I would like to see a Manchester United side where David Moyes trusts Shinji Kagawa because Kagawa is one of the very few, genuinely game-changing players that he possesses," said Rich.
"It's one of those things where you've got to bite the bullet. Jurgen Klopp is fairly adamant that the only place to really play Shinji Kagawa is behind the striker. I appreciate that would be a problem with Rooney. But I would argue that Wayne Rooney is a far more adaptable player than Kagawa. You could play Rooney on the right of the three with Welbeck on the left and Kagawa in the middle and Van Persie up top. I just don't think that David Moyes really trusts Kagawa in the way that Jurgen Klopp would."
Rich also touched on Liverpool and their narrow performance. He pointed out that Brendan Rodgers' team have struggled for goals this season, scoring more than once in a game on just two occasions.
Listen to the full interview below or download the Football Show podcast on iTunes:
