Ryan Giggs: it hasn't sunk in yet that Sir Alex Ferguson is leaving Manchester United
Ryan Giggs tucked away the 34th winner’s medal of his Manchester United career last Sunday, watched on as Sir Alex Ferguson bade farewell to Old Trafford and began to contemplate life under David Moyes.
At 39, Giggs will walk into the unknown when he returns for pre-season training in July, no longer able to rely on the old familiarity of Ferguson welcoming him and the squad back to Carrington for another assault on success.
That has been the tale of the last 22 summers for Giggs, yet when Moyes takes charge of his first training session as United manager, a new era will truly begin.
The last time United changed their manager, the biggest challenge facing the new man was to restore order to a dysfunctional dressing room and gain control of a club that had become a byword for underachievement.
Moyes can thank Ferguson for handing him an altogether different undertaking, but there is an argument to suggest that encountering a dressing room of serial winners for the first time, and convincing them that you are the man to take them forward, is just as daunting as the task that faced Ferguson 27 years ago.
“Maybe it is,” Giggs said. “But we have a really good bunch of lads in the dressing room and, whenever the manager needs help, the more experienced players will help. That has been the norm, ever since I have been in the club.
“When I was an apprentice, I used to go upstairs at The Cliff [training ground] for my breakfast and see the likes of Brucey, Gary Pallister and Bryan Robson all in the coaches’ room, having a cup of tea and sharing jokes before training.
“That is how it has always been here. The experienced players have always had a good relationship with the staff and helped each other along.
“What David Moyes is coming into is a good atmosphere, a really good bunch of lads, very good players and a really strong squad, so it is a strong position to be in. But the downside is that you have to follow the most successful manager that has ever lived.
“Managers usually go into clubs when things aren't going great, but this team isn’t on a downward spiral, so I don’t know if that makes it harder or easier for David.”
Tapping into the winning mentality fostered by Ferguson, which has enabled the Scot to hand over a championship-winning team to his successor, should at least give Moyes the opportunity to sustain the success of the Ferguson era.
