THIS TIME IT FEELS BELIEVABLE

THE honours board just inside the east stand entrance at Old Trafford has been updated. Thirteen FA Cups and a Women's FA Cup now adorn the wall.

- SAMUEL LUCKHURST

Up four flights of stairs, past the open bar and the hospitality boxes, there is a room only accessible by a security pass. Inside, the Premier League trophy and European Cup glisten in an encased display.

Opposite is panoramic artwork charting the development over Old Trafford's first 100 years. The Manchester United Opus, a coffee-table tome weightier than a coffee table, rests on a round, polished table.

Incongruously, a motorbike once graced this room.

Round the corner, shirts donned by Sir Bobby Charlton, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo are draped over mannequins, with lifesize action shots of the trio in the background. It is the sight that greets anyone who exits the Old Trafford boardroom.

It resembles a conference hub, rather than the oak-pannelled decour and trophy cabinets of yesteryear. More Succession than Ferguson. Waiting for a dozen journalists are United chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth.

Both are in their club attire; black two-piece Paul Smith suits with the Manchester coat of arms stitched onto the jacket's breast pocket, white shirts and red silk club ties with the United devil insignia faintly repeated throughout.

A smiling Ashworth and Berrada warmly shake hands with all of us.

They are flanked by two members of the Reds communications department and we have 45 minutes in their company.