Moyes happy with fixtures and fittings

His first steps in the job have been taken with similar care; his initial acts having so far seemed akin to moving the desk and putting up a few swatches, since there has been an unprecedented level of scrutiny to his anointment as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson. A new manager will often indicate a desire to "put his own stamp" on a club, yet Moyes is more inclined to use his predecessor as a stencil with both Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs assuming coaching roles at the club earlier this week.

Both are comfortable working at United, since Neville returns after eight years under Moyes at Everton, while Giggs will combine his new responsibilities with his role as a midfielder in a side which he has been a part of for two decades. They have been graduated by Moyes but were educated under Ferguson, and their appointment will allow the transition to a new regime to be made without being seen to fracture itself from the success of the Fergie years.

Moyes' reign has, then, started not with a bang but with a whisper. "I spoke with Paul Scholes as well, [but] he felt he wanted to have some time off with his family," said the United manager. "I felt the right person was Ryan Giggs. To get him and Phil Neville together is great."

Moyes had marched into Old Trafford's Europa Suite flanked by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and defender Nemanja Vidic. The latter served as a loyal lieutenant of Ferguson's and he will be relied upon to help ease the transition for a squad which had come to take it for granted that they would receive their orders from a different Scot.

There has been an irresistible urge to refer to the common upbringing of Moyes and Ferguson – both were raised in Glasgow, decades apart – though it is more instructive to consider the similarities in their approach, even if Moyes was giving little away. "All I can do is do what David Moyes has done before," said the coach, who led Everton to a sixth-place league finish last term.

He was no more expansive on his designs for his new squad yesterday, drawing the shades over what he had planned during the transfer window – United made a tentative move for Everton left-back Leighton Baines before Moyes had packed up his things at Goodison – while the question of whether Wayne Rooney will still be around come United's opening match of the season against Wigan Athletic in the Community Shield on August 11 was answered, if not fully explained.

It has been a source of simmering interest, given the acrimony with which the striker removed himself from Moyes' care at Everton and made for Old Trafford in 2004, while Rooney's future has also been afforded prominence given that he can no longer be considered an integral figure for the Barclays Premier League champions. "We are working together now," said Moyes. "Let me reiterate: he's not for sale."

Talk of his future has been traded between Moyes and Ferguson, though, and the striker is thought to have had a private conversation with the former United manager, too.

Moyes has often sought counsel with his elder throughout his career, although those meetings will become necessarily informal and infrequent now given Ferguson's enduring capacity as a director. He is to remain a spirited presence within the corridors of Old Trafford – despite opting to skip United's initial matches – but he will be no spectre. "This a new era, but Sir Alex Ferguson will never go away," added Moyes. "You can see his statue, you can see his stand and he's certainly someone I'll go to. Sir Alex is not there to pressure me."

He had, however, left Moyes with little opportunity to refuse the job at United. "He invited me to his house and said was he was retiring . . . then he said, 'You're the next manager'. I was shocked."

He has had time to come round to the idea now, though he may never be able to feel truly comfortable.