Weather Player or manager, Ryan Giggs really is THE RED DEVIL.

Even from the dugout, Ryan Giggs is still tearing teams apart. After 962 appearances and 25 major trophies, Giggs marked his first game in temporary charge of Manchester United by restoring some of their traditional strengths: belief, tempo, boldness and, above all, meaningful width.

Standing a yard from the touchline, smartly suited and totally composed, waving occasionally to his adoring flock, Giggs looked every inch the elegant rescue act for his club, just what the boardroom ordered. As Wayne Rooney unintentionally alluded to afterwards, the decision on David Moyes’s long-term successor was “down to the board” but the 40-year-old with the grey flecks possessed “all the credentials to be the next boss”.

It does not sound like the boardroom will listen to the dressing-room or to those in the stands who crave faith being placed in the inexperienced Giggs. United cannot afford a decision based on sentiment. It has to be made with cold detachment.

Yet those who have long believed Giggs will manage United one day will not have been surprised by how events unfolded against Norwich City. Giggs has the toughness to leave out friends, he has an understanding of the club’s playing ethos and an understanding of the game, influencing this match with one substitution in particular, sending on Juan Mata, who promptly scored twice.