Ryan Giggs wins Lifetime Achievement Award

Ryan Giggs collected the first Lifetime Achievement Award at the Manchester United Player of the Year dinner and spoke passionately about the club's ability to bounce back from adversity.

The interim manager, who continued to stress he has not yet made a decision on his future, watched as a host of big names and former team-mates paid tribute to his career on a special MUTV video.

Tributes for Ryan Giggs

"I’m not usually an emotional person," he stated. "But this has touched me. To receive this Lifetime Achievement is something special, one of the most special awards I’ve ever received. This club touches everyone’s heart; it’s not only a club, it’s a family. So many special people have been a part of that, so for me to win this is emotional and it’s a special night for me.

"I’ve played with so many great players who have had a massive impact on me, and of course Sir Alex Ferguson, who has been the single biggest influence on my career. I’m a lucky man."

Giggs is adamant the Reds will respond to a trophyless campaign by showing their true colours in 2014/2015.

"I think I summed it up on Tuesday, when I said it’s been a disappointing season," he reasoned. "Just like a player when you have setbacks, if you’re a proper player, you come back. If you’re a proper team and a proper club, which we are, you always bounce back.

"In my first full season we lost out to Leeds in the league and I was sat in the dressing room as an 18-year-old watching grown men cry. I saw then how much football, how much winning meant to people. How much it meant to professionals. We came back the next year and won the league for the first time in 26 years. There’s not a doubt in my mind that, as Sir Bobby [Charlton] said, we’ll be back next season and we’ll be challenging. That’s what proper clubs do, they have setbacks and they come back stronger.

"You don’t achieve anything without help. That goes for James [Wilson] who made his debut the other day, and Adnan [Januzaj] who lit up the stadium the other night. They’ll need help, just like I did. They’re at the right club, just as I have been for the last 26 years."

GALLERY