They've lost their best player and the first match under their new manager, then were delayed by an hour in getting into Sydney. But it takes more than that to stop Manchester United. Eventually, the travelling circus that is the world's biggest sporting club arrived on Sunday afternoon, greeted by a throng of fans at Mascot as they rolled off the charter flight from Bangkok. Roughly only a sixth of those travelling with the club's official delegation are actually players. Just as many belong to the club's media and publicity department. The most important man at United has always been the manager, but this is the first time - in living memory for most of their players - that Alex Ferguson isn't the man in change. Fellow Scot David Moyes is much less abrasive than his brilliant but often irritable predecessor. After obliging for the stock shot in front of Sydney Harbour, Moyes was happy to reveal his desire to put on a show. Veteran Ryan Giggs was the poster boy of Ferguson's reign, and he admits he's in a unique position training under a new boss. "I can only speak for me personally but I can say it's a bit strange because I've only had one manager for 20-odd years," he said. It's like any other pre-season though, you've got to work hard, knuckle down and prepare yourself as best you can for the first game of the season. The 39-year-old will get a taste of State of Origin as well this week for the first time, but declares his allegiance is already settled. I had a great pleasure in spending some time with the Melbourne Storm when they were playing in Leeds for the World Club and spent a bit of time with Billy Slater and Cameron Smith," Giggs said. But they're obviously Queenslanders, and I've already had a text from Andrew Johns telling me in no uncertain terms who to support. So I'm supporting NSW, I think. United failed to hit the heights in Bangkok on Saturday night. Thai fans - among the more fanatical followers of the English Premier League - endured mixed feelings as a makeshift team largely cobbled together from two local sides defeated the Red Devils 1-0. Officially, that was Moyes' first game in charge, and one he'd want to forget. Fitness was quite good but it was tested by the conditions," he said. Although United will be on their guard, Moyes has no doubt the A-League All-Stars will be just as keen to repeat the dose of their Thai counterparts at ANZ Stadium. "I'm sure the Aussie players will be a bit fitter than we are," he said. [Manchester United is] a big scalp, but the players who've been here over the years understand that and understand that it's all part of playing for Manchester United. Moyes should know about the hunger to defeat this Red monolith. His Everton side of the past decade seldom did, although the rare occasions they did were inscribed into club folklore. "The objectives are no different from any season: to win as many trophies as possible," Moyes said. It's my first season as manager of Manchester United and I'm following in the footsteps of the finest football manager that's ever lived, and I'm always saying that, if I can win a quarter of what he won, I'll have done very well.