Excerpts from David Moyes's first press conference as Man United manager

David Moyes, the new gaffer at the Theater of Dreams, attended his first ever press conference in charge of the Red Devils.

Here’s what he had to say:

On the club, the fixtures and his contract and the fans

“Success? This club has success emblazoned across his badge. This club is about winning trophies. I am hungry to do it – driven to succeed – I won’t change myself but I want to get the first trophies on the board. I will always put winning at the top of the list. We need to get the balance right. Hopefully I will have the same magic touch that Sir Alex did to make remarkable decisions to decide football matches at time. Hopefully the late goals will continue.”

“I wanted to get Paul Scholes in my coaching staff. He has asked to have some time off with his family. Ryan Giggs is an incredible footballer. You don’t realise until working close with him how good he is. I wanted younger members of staff, Ryan and Phil Neville give me that.

I’m not convinced that’s the way the balls come out of the hat! I have never seen United get a tougher first few fixtures than the ones this year!”

“I have found the people at the club fantastic. They want continuity and longevity – Glazers and Ed Woodward see it as a long-term thing. I need to say a big thank you to Bill Kenwright and Everton. I’m sure he understands I had to make this move.”

“I will be new to a lot of the supporters. Sir Alex will always be here – his stand and his statue are here – the supporters need to realise that it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s time and someone needs to come in. To manage at this level for 25 years, I don’t think another manager will ever do that at a club at this level.”

On the Rooney issue

“I’ve spoken to Wayne Rooney. Wayne is only 40 goals behind Sir Bobby and Denis Law. Wayne is not for sale – he is a Manchester United player – he will remain a Manchester United player. I have had several meetings. He has come back in good shape and is excellent in the training sessions. We are trying everything we can to get Wayne Rooney in a condition and state when he is more like the Wayne Rooney we know.”

On his predecessor, Sir Alex Ferguson

“I hope Sir Alex is sitting at games in the director’s box. He is not there to question me. He told me I should be the next United manager. He has been so good to me. The Glazers and Ed Woodward have been excellent. The players have too. You can imagine the size of the job. I need to say a big thank you to Rene Meulensteen, Mike Phelan and Eric Steele, who have left the club. I asked Rene to stay but he felt it most fair that he moved on and let me stamp my own authority on the team.

“Time will tell. Any football coach who sees Old Trafford knows it is the place you want to go. It is possible that as a British coach you have to go through the lower leagues and wait for the opportunity.

“Whoever was going to take over from Sir Alex knew they had a difficult job. His achievements are unrivalled. Like Bill Shankly and Jock Stein…a great line of Scottish managers.”

“I’m inexperienced compared to many managers linked to this role. But the biggest confidence I got was from Sir Alex telling me that I should be his replacement.

“Incredibly privileged that I was given this opportunity to manage Manchester United. I am grateful to Sir and the Manchester United board for offering me this position. Sir Alex gave me a call, asked me to come to his house.

“I was expecting him to take one of my players. He says, “I’m retiring – and you’re the next Manchester United manager.” I wasn’t asked – I was told by Sir Alex Ferguson that I was the next United manager. The blood drained from my face but inside I was thrilled.”

“It was incredible when I met Sir Alex. Before half-an-hour, he was talking about the squad and the players. I only knew a couple of days before we were supposed to play Liverpool but I was sworn about secrecy.

“He said that Wayne is a very good player who has made a big impact and scored a lot of goals. All the things he said about the squad have been very important.

“A few players have injuries ahead of the tour. Ashley Young, Chris Smalling and Nani are doubts. They may still go. We will assess them next week. Zaha is due in for training on Monday, Kagawa will meet us in Japan and Hernandez will go back to the AON centre and we will see him after the tour.”