Liverpool v Manchester United: David Moyes defends his record at Anfield "It was down to Liverpool having really good teams with people like Xabi Alonso, Mascherano, Torres at his pomp, Steven Gerrard," he said. They were one of the teams that went on to win the European Cup. That's why it was very difficult to win regular games at Anfield because of the quality of the side they had. They had bigger finances than we did but when it came to the game it was 11 versus 11, that's what people judged us on and that's why the record there is poor. We couldn't quite compete with them. Moyes's explanation is reasonable. Initially, Everton did not win so many derbies at Anfield was because they were facing a Champions League side, assembled at much greater cost. Criticism was more audible in the last three seasons, when Everton finished above Liverpool but were unable to assert superiority when crossing Stanley Park. Cautious Anfield performances were frustrating, and an FA Cup semi-final defeat, albeit at Wembley, in 2012 when Everton had all the momentum heading into the fixture was arguably his lowest point. The suspicion has always been Moyes has a tendency to favour attentiveness over risk and his distrust of "football philosophy" does not sit comfortably with the trending classes. "The only philosophy I have is to win," he said earlier this year. Brendan Rodgers watched United's 0-0 draw with Chelsea and although he believes it is ultimately the ability of players, not managers, who determine success, he said there was a palpable difference in attitude at Old Trafford without Sir Alex Ferguson. "A manager can affect the attitude of his players," said Rodgers. Look at the Chelsea game the other night. It was drifting towards a 0-0 and there wasn't really a murmur at Old Trafford. You know at the time Fergie was there he was probably going for the win so the crowd were near-enough expecting a goal at the end of the game. Moyes needs to work on creating the same aura, but has never sat in the opposing dressing room at Anfield with as much weaponry to win as he possesses on Sunday. For the new United manager, a win will be worth more than just three points. It will finally eliminate the nagging question stalking his managerial career.