David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson Abused by Manchester United Fans Following Derby Disaster

Manchester United supporters turned on former manager Sir Alex Ferguson for selecting David Moyes to lead the club following their side's heavy defeat to Manchester City as fury amongst fans reached defiant levels.

To further provoke their ire, Moyes told reporters after the game that his side "aspire" to be like their arch-rivals City, comments that will put further strain on the Scot's crumbling relationship with the Old Trafford faithful.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Ferguson, who stepped down as United manager last summer, was harangued by supporters riled at the dearth of quality in the squad he left behind, in addition to his decision to name and relentlessly back his successor during the club's wretched attempt to defend their Premier League crown.

Following the match, the club were forced to deploy stewards to stop supporters removing the 'Chosen One' banner over the Stretford End. The vocal backing of Moyes around Old Trafford that disspitated following the defeat to Liverpool was also virtually non-existent on Tuesday as City opened up a 15 point gap on their neighbours.

A brace from Edin Dzeko and another from Yaya Toure consigned United to their sixth defeat on home soil this season, their worst record for 12 years.

During their dismal campaign the club have produced just one win against clubs in the top nine - a victory over Arsenal in November – out of 13 and have taken just a point from their six meetings against the top three, suffering home and away defeats to Liverpool and City for the first time in one season in the process.

Following Tuesday's loss, Moyes told Sky Sports: "I think we've played a very good side and it's the sort of standard and level we need to try and aspire to get ourselves to at this moment in time.

"I think we need to play better. We're needing to come up a couple of levels at the moment and we're not quite there."

With United set to finish on a new record low points tally for a Premier League season, Moyes once again found himself taking responsibility for his side's latest defeat.

"I take responsibility for the team, I always do. Everyone knows this is going to be a job which is going to take a little bit of time to get the way we would like it, but that is the job and I recognise that.

"I thought it would be a tough year for us, no doubt about that, but I hoped it would be much more competitive and closer to the top of the league than we are at the present time."

Following the weekend visit of Aston Villa, United face the daunting prospect of Bayern Munich at Old Trafford in the first leg of their quarter final clash. Pep Guardiola's side successfully defended their Bundesliga crown on Tuesday night with a record seven games left to play.