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Derbies aren't about the long-term. They're about winning, and then letting everyone know that you've won.

But if Manchester United fans had looked past the immediate delirium of beating Manchester City at Old Trafford for the first time since 2011, they will have found even more reason to celebrate.

United are playing well at the moment. Six successive wins in the Premier League, including comprehensive victories over Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City, is evidence of that.

But the bonus for fans is that it's largely been achieved with players Louis van Gaal inherited. He's been working with what he's got, rather than what he wants.

Click through the gallery to see how United fans rated the Reds in the derby.

It perhaps seems strange to say that Van Gaal is yet to properly put his stamp on the squad after he spent more than £150m in the summer.

But of the starting XI against City on Sunday, only Daley Blind is a Van Gaal signing. Even Ander Herrera was a long-term target who arrived before the Dutchman was officially unveiled.

His big success this season has been improving players who were already there. Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini both scored against City, two players who were openly mocked by some supporters last season.

Chris Smalling is another who seems to be thriving having finally grasped what Van Gaal wants from his players. Phil Jones and Antonio Valencia have taken steps forward.

If he was moving into a new house, Van Gaal has done a bit of decorating to tart the place up a bit. But he hasn't ripped out the bathroom or extended the kitchen. Not yet, anyway.

Some of the pieces are already in place.

Angel Di Maria was one of Van Gaal's big summer signings, but was left on the bench on Sunday. You imagine United are hoping he's playing well enough by the time the derby comes around next season to warrant a starting place.

But other parts of the team need work.

Valencia has started the last seven games at right-back. He's done a good job in most games but, really, he's a midfielder. There was a time when he was only used as a full-back in an emergency.

Should United reach next season's Champions League, Valencia will have played a key part in getting them there. But does Van Gaal want him starting at right-back against Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich? Probably not.

To a lesser extent, the same is true of Fellaini and Young.

United's current midfield of Michael Carrick, Fellaini and Herrera played particularly well against Tottenham, Liverpool and City. But that doesn't mean Van Gaal doesn't need another midfielder before next season.

Van Gaal spent a lot of money in the summer. But he's still working with a squad he inherited rather than one he's built himself.

He deserves credit for getting the best out of Young, Fellaini, Valencia and Smalling. Finishing in the top four depended on it. But they're not his players.

Their performances in the run-in mean it's likely they will all survive at Old Trafford. But whether they're all in the team for the first game of next season is a different matter.

It is, though, all hypothetical. It depends on how well Van Gaal and Ed Woodward recruit in the summer and whether their hand is forced over the likes of David De Gea and Di Maria.

But if the United fans had found time to look beyond the relief of finally beating City again, they will have seen that the future does, for now, look very bright.

If Van Gaal can do this with someone else's team, then what can he achieve with his own?

MORE: Louis van Gaal has a special message for his wife's City-supporting hairdresser Dawn following derby victory.