The 26-year-old, at fault for two of City’s goals in the dramatic Old Trafford clash, held onto his first-team spot at Stoke on Saturday following a show of faith by manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

 Foster went on to produce an impressive performance in the 2-0 victory at Stoke on Saturday to justify Ferguson’s decision to retain him in favour of the Polish stopper Tomasz Kuszczak.  But the England goalkeeper admits that he owes Ferguson a debt of gratitude for sticking by him following his derby display.

Foster said: "I have to say a big thanks to the boss for sticking by me. Last Sunday (against City) 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. But 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, Eric Steele, was 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 is set to face German champions Wolfsburg at Old Trafford on Wednesday with regular first-choice keeper Edwin Van der Sar facing another three weeks out with the thumb injury that has sidelined him since July.

And Foster admits that the Dutch veteran is his perfect role model at Old Trafford and a player he is determined to learn from and emulate.

Foster said: “The more you play, the more concentration and consistency you develop and 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."