After the victory of the visitor, Giggs said walking out at Old Trafford in this new capacity made him feel "10 feet tall". "I was nervous, but as soon as I came out of the tunnel the reception I got, the staff got and the players got was brilliant," he told MUTV. "I've got to thank the fans for that because it’s not been an easy week, but I felt ten feet tall."
Goals from Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata handed United the win, although the Reds were frustrated for the majority of the first half. Giggs says he encouraged attacking football at the break, and was full of praise for the response shown in the second period. “We looked like scoring goals and creating chances," he told Sky Sports. "In the first half, we were a little bit slow, so I just reminded the players that the tempo needed to be quicker and they reacted well to that.
“They’re all good players and all of us have let ourselves down this year. We haven’t played to the level that we’re capable of this season, but we did that today. I said yesterday that it can’t just be for one game, it has to be for longer than that. Every time you play for Manchester United you have to stay at that level, and they have to keep to these standards against Sunderland.
