Murphy makes no excuses

The Frenchman's pre-match criticism of his underachieving side insopired the Reds to a hard-fought 1-0 win over their fierce rivals at Old Trafford, and Murphy feels he and his fellow players wee told exactly what they needeed to hear.

Murphy said: "I think the gaffer just spelt it out that in terms of our attitude, work ethic and taking responsibility for our performance on the pitch, he wanted to see an improvement.

"There are certain things which have nothing to do with tactics. Things like getting first to the ball, not shirking a challenge and denying space to your opponents. These are things we seemed to do a lot more at the weekend.

"I think anyone who may have criticised us for lacking heart or desire would have to think again after Saturday."