Foster: I Was Made To Face Up To City Mistakes

Ben Foster had a nightmare during the derby and sections of the press claimed he was going to be dropped for our next Premiership game.

Ferguson rightly stuck by Foster though and the keeper picked up a clean sheet in our 2-0 victory over Stoke. Foster didn’t have a lot to do but looked more composed and confident than the weekend before.

He says goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele, has been really harsh on him this week but that he has become a better player because of it.

“I have to say a big thanks to the boss for sticking by me,” said Foster. “Last Sunday was great for the team but personally, it was an absolute disaster. I was gutted afterwards. I was the only one in the changing room with an upside down smile on his face. I pretty much buried my head in the sand. I didn’t really want to watch the television and there was no way I was reading the papers the next day. When we got into training I had to face up to it. I had to look at the replays, analyse them and learn from them. The goalkeeping coach has been on at me all week and was really hard on me. But I needed that and I like to think I have learnt from it. You are going to have those days as a goalkeeper sometimes and you have to keep them to a minimum.”

Foster reckons he can use the example of Edwin Van der Sar to help him improve his game.

“The more you play the more concentration and consistency you develop,” he added. “Edwin is a typical example of Mr Cool. He is a fantastic professional and he is someone I want to emulate at Manchester United. He is exactly what I am aiming to be for years to come.”