Giggs confident career will end at United

Ryan Giggs is determined to cram a few more medals into his personal trophy cabinet at the Manchester United museum after committing himself to Old Trafford for the remainder of his career.

With the turmoil over Malcolm Glazer’s takeover bid still reverberating round the Red Devils, the past 48 hours has brought some welcome good news on the pitch, with yesterday’s win at Southampton followed by confirmation Giggs and goalkeeper Tim Howard signing two-year extensions to their current deals.

The double announcement offers further proof of Alex Ferguson’s intention to stay with United despite Glazer’s controversial buy-out and confirms the long-serving Scot’s trust in Howard’s ability, even though the American is set to start Saturday’s FA Cup final clash with Arsenal on the bench.

While Howard will be just short of his 30th birthday and have a few years left in front of him when his new contract expires in 2009, Giggs’ additional seasons - taking him up to 2008 – represent the fulfilment of a dream to spend his entire career at United.

Now 31, the Wales skipper is already the most decorated player in Red Devils history.

He will become the first player to collect five FA Cup winners’ medals for over a century should United beat the Gunners.

Providing he avoids major injury, he will also almost certainly threaten Sir Bobby Charlton’s landmark 759 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils, having played his 634th in the 2-1 triumph at St Mary’s.

“I am quite confident I will finish my career at United,” he said. “I have been here since I was a young boy. I have always wanted to stay, there is nowhere else I would want to go and I am happy that everything has worked out.”

Currently, Giggs’ astonishing medal collection – comprising eight Premiership titles, four FA Cups, a League Cup, European Cup and a World Club Championship - is housed in United’s museum.

And the Cardiff-born winger is has no intention of locking it up for good just yet.

Certainly, he does not have any sense of inferiority about Chelsea, despite the new champions’ superb form this season, and insists there is enough quality in the Old Trafford squad to mount a far more stern challenge next term than this season’s disappointing effort.

“Chelsea have raised the bar and it is our job to try and catch them,” he told the official Manchester United magazine.

“We have good players at this club and we should be challenging. We have shown this season we can beat the top teams.

“It is the draws rather than defeats that have cost us. We just need to be more consistent.”

After a period in the doldrums, which saw widespread calls for his departure just over two years’ ago, Giggs has responded to the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon and at times this season has hit top form.

“In the run up to Christmas I was playing as well as ever,” he admitted. “The games were all close together, I was playing well and I couldn’t wait for the next one.

“I have never been one for using tricks like Cristiano. He has got every trick in the book and can make even the best defenders look stupid. I prefer to unbalance players and get round them that way.

“Whether I stay out wide I don’t know. It is natural to lose some of your speed as you get older.

“The key will be to keep that little burst of pace and at the moment I still feel very comfortable on the wing.”

While Giggs’ position in the annals of United history has already been written, no matter what the next three years bring, Howard still has plenty to prove.

Hailed as the successor to Peter Schmeichel after a series of inspired performances immediately after his arrival from Major League Soccer, the New Jersey-born keeper has since hit a rocky patch.

Axed after a high-profile Champions League blunder against Lyon earlier this season, Howard spent five months as understudy to Roy Carroll before earning a recall but had only been back for 10 games before he was dropped again following another blunder in last month’s Premiership victory over Newcastle.

Despite the setbacks, Ferguson clearly still believes Howard has the ability to operate at the highest level once he gains the required amount of experience.

“Tim is a young, gifted goalkeeper who is progressing all the time and needs experience playing in our league,” said Ferguson, who at 63, could yet become the only manager Giggs will ever have.

“Ryan has been a fantastic servant and it is comforting to know that he will be here for another three years, possibly ending his career at United,” said Ferguson.

“To think Ryan joined as a 13-year-old boy and to be at a club for 20 years is unique in this era.”