Sir Alex Ferguson brushed off Cristiano Ronaldo's petulant reaction to his substitution at Old Trafford and said it was exactly what he wanted.
Ronaldo was substituted an hour into Sunday's 2-0 win over Manchester City after earlier driving home a 30-yard free-kick to put the Red Devils in front.
The win took United to within four points of an 18th league championship, although it did not seem the 24-year-old World Player of the Year was in much of a mood to celebrate, swiping angrily at a chair as he made his way off the field before sitting in the dug-out shaking his head.
It could be viewed as an attack on Ferguson's authority, although if it was, the United boss did not seem to mind.
"It is great that he wanted to play on," said Ferguson. "It is fabulous.
"But I have to look at the big picture. He produced an incredible performance against Arsenal on Tuesday. He ran his socks off.
"Now I have Wednesday and Saturday to look after. There is no problem."
Ferguson was in no mood to discuss the Carlos Tevez situation either.
In an interview published on Sunday morning, Tevez admitted his United days were almost at an end, with the Old Trafford hierarchy not even making an offer to keep him when his loan deal expires in four games' time.
Ferguson still picked the Argentina star and was rewarded with a superb goal just before the break.
Tevez reacted by ignoring all efforts at a communal celebration, running to the dug-out where he cupped his hands round his ears in order to listen to the celebrations as, directly in front of him, Ferguson looked on.
"If he keeps scoring there will be absolutely no problem," said Ferguson before declaring, "nothing has changed" when asked if there had been any developments on the Tevez contract situation.
City boss Mark Hughes may well be an interested party if Tevez does eventually leave Old Trafford.
By then the South American should have another Premier League title in his collection, with United now just four points away.
A win at Wigan - where they lifted the trophy last season - on Wednesday, will leave them needing just a point against Arsenal on Saturday to clinch their record-equalling 18th championship.
"We have three days to prepare for a hard game at Wigan," said Ferguson.
"I will freshen the team up a bit. I have a big squad, so I will use it."
Ferguson will check on Rio Ferdinand in the morning after the England defender was ruled out by a calf injury picked up in training.
Jonny Evans is also a doubt after suffering a minor hamstring strain after originally shrugging off the effects of a sickness bug.
Hughes, meanwhile, questioned referee Chris Foy's decision to award the free-kick to United which led to Ronaldo opening the scoring.
It came after Stephen Ireland had been pulled up for a challenge on Dimitar Berbatov.
Tevez increased City's misery by extending the lead and Hughes said: "I am disappointed with the award of a free-kick for the first goal. I thought Stevie had won the ball.
"The free-kick gets a little deflection off Nigel de Jong but it was still a good strike, so you have to give (Ronaldo) credit.
"We are thinking we can still get something out of the game but get caught out on a long ball.
"Berbatov shows good control and he sets up Tevez. It was an outstanding strike for the second one. We felt hard done by as it was not a fair reflection on the game."
Hughes added: "We knew the second half would be difficult as United can get people behind the ball and play counter-attack. That's what they did.
"We did not ask enough questions of them. We did not have that presence needed. We had a lot of possession but there was not much of an end product."
Sir Alex Ferguson explained Cristiano Ronaldo’s frustrated response to being substituted in the second half against Manchester City as the winger’s determination to play.
Ronaldo was clearly disappointed at his early departure from the action, after setting United on the way to a comfortable 2-0 win in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, but Sir Alex believes it was a healthy reaction.
“He wanted to stay on, that’s the simple reason,� said the boss. “He’s in great form, but I have got to look at the bigger picture. He had an incredible performance at Arsenal in midweek, he ran his socks off. We have to think about how we get through our games and keeping him fresh.
“It’s great when players want to play. Take Jonny Evans, who was taken ill this morning. We put him on medication but he still said he wanted to play. He was feeling his hamstring at half time but again he wanted to play on. That’s the guts you want. I brought him off because I can’t take chances at this stage of the season.�
United’s other goalscorer, Carlos Tevez, was another player to make a gesture that will make the headlines. After scoring the Reds’ brilliant second, he held his hands behind his ears. The Argentinian’s future remains unclear, but Sir Alex was again unmoved over the issue.
“I didn’t read [what he was quoted as saying in] the papers. You hear things… but, look, he is a Manchester United player. The fans love him. Our fans love triers. When players try, the fans love that.� Asked when Tevez’s future would be sorted out, the boss responded curtly: “I’m not getting into that, OK?�