They tell a story at Manchester United about David Moyes’s negotiations to become the club’s new manager and the fact there were a couple of people behind the scenes who were slightly taken aback when they heard he had requested the availability of a private jet as part of his contract.

At the time, the club's directors were not completely au fait with the way Moyes liked to work and the frequency with which he planned to fly off to see transfer targets or study potential opponents. Alex Ferguson was hardly short of a few air miles himself but one of the more intriguing differences since the change of manager is that, if anything, they reckon Moyes gets about even more. It is quite a tribute, bearing in mind Ferguson's reputation as a workaholic, as Moyes prepares to take United back into the Champions League for the first time since Real Madrid left the previous manager too distraught to face the cameras.

New situation
Yet there is no getting away from the reason why United's first European season sans Ferguson since going out of the Uefa Cup to Hungary's Videoton in 1985 will be particularly interesting is that they now have a manager who, as Jose Mourinho has pointed out, has not been involved at this level before, meaning "people can't expect him to be a fish in water".

Sitting in the Europa Suite at Old Trafford, surrounded by pictures of some of United’s great European nights, Moyes talked about Everton’s big chance, in 2005, when they went out of the Champions League qualifiers against Villarreal and Pierluigi Collina’s refereeing went into Evertonian infamy. Moyes even reminisced about his old days at Celtic and his brief excursions three decades ago “in the old European Cup”, namely a two-legged win against Ajax and then a defeat against Juventus in Turin. “Hey, I’ve been around,” Moyes pointed out. Ultimately, however, it always came back to the fact that this is his first proper stab at the Champions League.

Bayer Leverkusen are potentially difficult opponents, too, with four wins in their first five Bundesliga fixtures. They have a new manager in the former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia.

Sturdy character
Moyes is a sturdy character and the clear impression is he can barely wait to take the next step up. The only worry he expressed was that United have not scored a goal from open play in their past three matches. "It is a little bit of a concern," he said. But he can be reassured by the fact, even if he is new to this competition, United are anything but inexperienced. The man sitting to his right at yesterday's press conference, Rio Ferdinand, could reflect on 108 European games. Ryan Giggs has 152 and there are five other players with 60 or more appearances even if one of them, Nani, is suspended because of his red card against Madrid.

There was a boyishness about the way Moyes spoke – "I know a lot about it. I've watched plenty of games" – but above all, there was the sense of someone comfortable in his own skin. "I'm now managing a club which is used to getting close to the final stages. I tried with Everton and now I have another route with Man United I am going to do everything I can to win it."
Guardian Service