Sir Alex Ferguson insists Cristiano Ronaldo has no cause to win United’s fans over after a summer which saw the player heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid. The Reds boss instead has praised the player's maturity as he prepares to return from an ankle injury against Villarreal on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old winger is well ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and will make an appearance of some sort – most likely as a substitute – when the Reds take on the Spaniards in Wednesday’s Champions League Group E opener at Old Trafford.

Real Madrid’s public pursuit of Ronaldo throughout the summer brought matters to a head when Sir Alex met with the Portuguese international during pre-season. The United boss insists that is where the matter ended, and now predicts a welcome return from the Old Trafford faithful.

“I don’t think [he has to win the fans over],” Sir Alex said on Tuesday. “I think our fans understand the situation. He’s a young man who was tempted by the lure of money, but since we gave him our decision he has accepted it.

“He said that he’d like to go to Real Madrid. When I had the meeting with him, that was it finished. He understood my position and the club’s position. He has accepted it and got on with it like a professional. There has not been a problem since.”

Ronaldo has thrown himself at his recovery from the surgery he underwent in July with the same dedication he has to developing his raw skill into world football's most sought-after talent during five years with the Reds.

“His training and rehabilitation has been fantastic,” said Sir Alex. “Every day, right through till five o’clock, he has shown a real determination to get back playing  for us.

“He is well ahead of schedule. That is credit to him and our medical team. They have done a fantastic job, but he has been a great patient. We could have included him against Liverpool on Saturday. Maybe if we’d been at home we would have done. With the game being away we thought it best to give him a few more days.

“He has shown great maturity as well, accepting the decision of Manchester United and getting on with it. No pettiness, no throwing the toys out of the pram. He’s been professional, in training every day and working very hard. We’re delighted that he is back. His return is a huge lift because he is such a fantastic player.”

And Sir Alex isn’t the only one delighted at Ronaldo’s return. His team-mates will be pleased to see a player whose 42-goals coloured and characterised United’s incredible Premier League and Champions League double success last term.

“He is such a massive player for us,” said Carlos Tevez. “He is a great person to have on your side. It’s almost like having an extra player when he is playing for you because he is such a danger to our opponents. It will be a big boost to have him back.”

On keeping Blackburn quiet…

“Blackburn are a team that can be dangerous going forward and I feel that, as well as our good offensive performance, we had a good defensive performance. On crosses they can be extremely dangerous but we kept [Roque] Santa Cruz quiet. I am happy we didn't concede and that we always looked fluid going forward. It was a well-accomplished away game.”

On the midweek trip to the Ukraine…

“It is another big game on Wednesday night. It is important to start the Champions League well, with a win away from home. That will give us confidence. It will be same approach on Wednesday. It is our strength and we can be successful by expressing our strength. It is a difficult group because all the teams are used to playing in the Champions League, are strong at home as well, and that is why we need to find the same kind of performance.”

On Walcott's starting berth…

“I assessed every individual and was thinking to leave Theo out, but for the balance I kept him in. I wanted to rest Nicklas Bendtner and I thought having Theo away from home could give us the penetration. I think he can play left and right and he is happy on the left because he knows he can score with his right foot; he tried a couple of times today. Theo has been educated that way, where he can play on either side., but he also prefers to play in the middle. The problem with scoring three times for the national team is that everyone expects you to score again. Football isn't like that. What is most important is that he has a good team attitude, tries to work hard and the rest will come with time.”

On hitting top gear…

“We try always to play our way and slowly we are getting there. We started our training late because of the amount of players away at the European Championships. We are growing now and scored four goals against FC Twente, three against Newcastle and four again today, all without conceding. Despite our youth we looked mature.”

On the timing of the second goal…

“We looked before half-time that we just wanted to keep the ball, and when you are patient and simple the chance come along. That is what we did and I think it was about 20 passes from right to left, back to front and it gave us the momentum for the dangerous last pass.” 

On his players being greedy…

"I am after my players to make the right decision and many times you see when a player shoots, someone could be in a better position. So I want my team to be capable of making the right decision without being greedy.”

On injuries…

“[Samir] Nasri is a big doubt for that, Eboue we might lose and Clichy too. We have to assess them tomorrow. It doesn't look too good.”

On Jack Wilshere's record breaking appearance…

“I bring English players slowly through. He is another one who will soon play for you [England].”

Arsène Wenger has no problem with 'directors of football' in his sport - but he could not envisage working at a club where he did not control the recruitment of players.

The changing role of managers is a hot topic following the resignations of Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley from Newcastle and West Ham respectively. Both men cited a lack of control over transfer policy as their reasons for leaving. Meanwhile, the spending power of Manchester City's new owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, may yet affect Mark Hughes' role at Eastlands.

Wenger insists on having the final say over the players Arsenal buy or sell but he accepts that some of his counterparts prefer a more hands-off approach in the transfer market.

"In life everyone is free to work as you want to work," said the Frenchman.

"If I go into a job and someone says to me that you have a director of football who buys and sells the players, I accept or don't accept it.

"If I accept it, I cannot complain. I would personally not accept that but I can understand as well that some people don't want to deal with that and they feel comfortable getting the most out of the players they have because they have come from a different country.

"There's no problem with directors of football so long as you have a very good one. I feel myself and the board are on the same wavelength in that regard."

Arsenal is delighted to announce that the regeneration created by the move to Emirates Stadium has been acknowledged at a top awards ceremony.

The Club, together with Newlon Housing Trust and Islington Council have won the ‘Best Development Partnership’ at the 2008 Affordable Home Ownership Awards.

The award is huge recognition for the successful partnership between Arsenal, Newlon and Islington Council which has delivered over 1,000 affordable homes in the Borough of Islington, as a direct result of Arsenal moving from Highbury to Emirates Stadium.

The success at winning the Best Development Partnership Award follows on from the Arsenal regeneration programme, which is one of the largest projects of its kind in Europe, also winning the 2008 Housing Corporation Gold Award for ‘Delivering joined-up development’.

Arsenal’s move to Emirates Stadium, which has created over 2,500 new homes in total and a over 2,600 new jobs into Islington, has now won over 20 awards in recognition of both the stadium itself and the regeneration to the local area.

The regeneration associated with Arsenal is only one part of the work of Newlon Housing Trust, which is a charitable housing association founded in Hackney in 1968 to provide decent and affordable homes for local people. Today, Newlon provides more than 6,000 homes across London for key workers.

The regeneration work by Arsenal has completely transformed the area around Emirates Stadium, making use of previously disused land and providing many new community facilities. The project has also been committed throughout its course to providing new and sustainable opportunities for local people through the work of the strong partnership between Arsenal, Newlon and the London Borough of Islington.

Arsenal Director Ken Friar, who played an instrumental role in the Club’s move to Emirates Stadium said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award. It’s further recognition of the success of our strong working partnership with Newlon and Islington Council.

“Arsenal Football Club is extremely proud of the benefits that have been brought to the community as part of our move to the Emirates Stadium. In addition to the provision of affordable housing, the Emirates Stadium project has provided a host of other community benefits, such as a state of the art waste recycling centre, a wide range of new job opportunities, a learning centre, public transport and open space improvements, as well as major investment in an area that suffered from serious deprivation.”

Awards won by Arsenal as a result of the Emirates Stadium project:

2006 Planning Awards - ‘Best Built Project Contributing to London’s Future’. 
2006 Planning Awards - ‘Mayor’s award for Planning Excellence’.
International Securitisation Report (ISR) - 'Corporate Deal of the Year 2006 – Europe'.
Treasurer Magazine Deals of the Year awards 2006 - ‘Winner of Securitisation and Structured Finance category’.
Building Design – Regeneration Awards 2006 - 'Best Mixed-use Regeneration Project'.
Quality in Construction Awards 2007 - 'Winner of Major Project Award'.
Building Awards 2007 - 'Building Project of the Year’.
Building Awards 2007 - ‘Constructing Excellence Award’.
Building Awards 2007 - ‘Major Contractor of the Year - Sir Robert McAlpine’.
Building Awards 2007 - 'Engineering Consultant of the Year – Buro Happold'.
Building Awards 2007 - 'Specialist Contractor of the Year Award – Keltbray'.
Beaumont Safety Trophy 2006 - Won for the Design of a specialist rig for drilling the holes used to fix the seating in Emirates Stadium.
2007 RICS Awards - 'Winner of the London region RICS Regeneration Award category’.
2007 NAS (National Association of Shopfitters) Design Partnerships Awards - 'Won for the Diamond Club project'.
2007 Retail and Leisure Property Awards - 'Best Commercial Leisure Scheme'.
2007 British Construction Industry Awards - Best Major Project.
2007 Visit London Awards – Business Venue of The Year
2007 Visit London Awards – Emirates Stadium Tours, Silver Award for Sports Tourism.
2007 Institution of Structural Engineers Awards - Award for Sports Structures
2008 Meet England’s Business Tourism Gold Award
2008 Housing Corporation Gold Award for Delivering joined-up development
2008 Affordable Home Ownership Awards – Best Development Partnership – Arsenal FC and Newlon.

Dimitar Berbatov admits he’ll probably be nervous when he makes his United debut at Anfield on Saturday, but the Bulgarian is confident his new team-mates will help him acclimatise to life in a red shirt.

“I might be nervous because it’s a new team, new players, a new atmosphere,” the striker told media at Old Trafford on Friday.

“But hopefully with the help of my team-mates I can find my place in the side and help the team with my goals.”

Despite a prolific two-year spell at Tottenham Hotspur, the 27-year-old failed to find the net against Liverpool in three Premier League outings.

On Saturday he’ll be reacquainted with former Spurs strike partner Robbie Keane, now plying his trade under Rafa Benitez.

“It will be strange to play against Robbie, but it will also be nice. I have good memories of playing alongside him – it was a good partnership.

“Everything comes to an end but I will be glad to see him again.”

United fans will be hoping Dimitar is still smiling come the final whistle on Saturday afternoon.

Dimitar Berbatov came face-to-face with the UK media on Friday as he was officially unveiled as a United and revealed trophies are top of his list at OT...

What was it about United that made you want to join?
It’s everything about the club from the red shirt to the glory that people think of when you simply say the words ‘Manchester United.’ It makes you think of the great players and the titles they’ve won as soon as you mention the club. The people who know me best - my family and close friends - know that I don’t play for money. I play because I like the game and I like to entertain. I can achieve that here and I want to help the team win more trophies. When the club said they wanted to sign me, I thought of nothing else.

Manchester City came in with a late bid on transfer deadline day. Was there any possibility of you joining them?
No. My only goal was to join United and now that I’m here I’m really pleased. My ambitions and goals are big and I want to fulfil them at the biggest club in the world. I was surprised when I heard about City’s offer and the money they wanted to spend, but it didn’t make any difference to me. I always wanted to come here.

There was a lot of uncertainty over your future before you actually joined United. How troubling was that for you?
Sometimes people don’t realise how the pressure can get to a player. During this transfer window it was really difficult for me. But when things work out in the end, you can look back and know it was worth waiting for.

Your game has been compared to that of Eric Cantona and Teddy Sheringham – do you see any similarities between yourself and those players?
It’s obviously a big compliment to hear these comparisons, but I have my own game and I never want to be compared to anyone else. Maybe in the future when I stop playing some people will ask the same question about me. But that’s why I play the game. I try to entertain and make people smile. If I can do that here like I did at Tottenham, I’ll be happy.

Did you model your game on anyone when you were growing up?
I always watched good players and worked hard to try to be like them. Marco van Basten was someone I looked to. He was a great striker and I tried my best to be like him.

Your body language when you play suggests that you have supreme confidence in your own ability. Is that the case?
Is that what I look like? [Interviewer: Yes, you look more than confident.] I may look like that but inside it might be a different story. As a player you have periods when things aren’t going well and you lose your confidence. You start asking yourself ‘am I good enough?’. I have been through a lot of those periods, but at the end of the day I know what my abilities are and I believe in what I can do on the pitch. That helps me through many difficult times and will help me come to a club like United.

It’s always been said that Cantona was born to play on the Old Trafford stage. Do you feel you are born to play here?
Only time will tell, but I really hope I will be successful here.

After a morning's work on the training pitch, the players refuel in the Carrington canteen…

Based on the first floor in the main building, the canteen seats around 100 people and is used by all club employees based at Carrington, including the manager, coaching staff, first team, Reserves and Academy players, as well as all operational staff.

“Demarcation is never an issue here,” says Sir Alex Ferguson, whose idea it was to have everyone eat in the same room.

“Everybody eats together; people wander about from office to office. It’s always been good that way at Carrington.”

Lunch is served between 12 and 2pm, with snacks and drinks available throughout the day. The man responsible for deciding what culinary delights are on offer is club dietician Trevor Lea.

“Chicken curry is always a winner,” says Trevor. “Some players would eat that every day. Low fat chicken curry, that is, made our way. Fish fingers and fishcakes are popular; we get through a lot of those.

"Pizzas are another favourite with toppings like chicken, spicy beef or tuna and sweetcorn. But again they’re not high in fat. We don’t smother them in cheese.

“The challenge is to make things tasty without fat. So we experiment a lot with different textures and herbs and other ways of getting taste in.”