But, after being limited to just 21 minutes of action during three substitute appearances over the past fortnight, there are some who suggest Giggs’ time at Old Trafford may be cut short.

It is not a prospect the 31-year-old is presently considering and as he reflected further on a career which has brought him eight Premiership titles, four FA Cups, a League Cup and a European Cup, Giggs insisted the most immediate of his renewed list of targets is reclaiming his first-team berth.

“I can’t see a situation where I would have to look away from Manchester United,” he said.

“I still feel if I am playing to the best of my ability I will be in the team and still have enough faith in myself to believe I will be here for another three years.

“In the short term, my goal is to get back in the starting line-up. Looking beyond that, there are more medals and titles to win and I intend to be a big part of it.”

The publication of any life story offers an obvious opportunity for reflection and given what Giggs has achieved since he first captured Alex Ferguson’s attention 17 years ago – when the Scot likened him to “a dog chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind” – he could be forgiven if he decided the time was right to stick his magical feet up and opt for a quiet life.

But that is not Giggs’ way. In his book, he bluntly points out how annoyed he was at being left out of last season’s FA Cup final starting line-up.

It is the disappointments, not the successes, that force those sprinkled with stardust to strive for more long after the masses started to rest on their laurels.

“I never really look back,” he said.

“It is not the eight championships which drive you on. It is the two or three you didn’t win.

“When the gaffer named the team for the FA Cup final, I couldn’t think: ‘Ah well, I have won it four times. I am not that bothered.’ I wanted a fifth and p***ed off was how I felt.”

To put Giggs’ achievements into context, it will be 2013 before John Terry and Frank Lampard could match his number of Premiership winners’ medals – and that date supposes Chelsea win every title from now until then.

The gap in between is huge, full of distractions and alternative options, all of which Giggs has ultimately rejected.

Now 31, those once flowing locks trimmed into a neat short back and sides with just the merest fleck of grey, it is easy to forget Giggs was once subjected to the same media frenzy that follows team-mate Wayne Rooney around now.

One Valentine’s Day, 3,000 cards arrived for him at United’s Carrington training ground, while on another occasion, the M4 had to be shut down because so many fans were trying to get to one of his signing sessions.

So, having been there and done it, what advice can he offer the new boy wonder who is now coming to terms with a two-game Champions League ban?

“I am not the kind of person who would go up and speak to Wayne,” he said.

“We are all different and I certainly didn’t look for advice when I was younger.

“I probably observed the senior professionals more than anything else, watched how they trained, how they conducted interviews, things like that.

“I don’t know whether Wayne does that or not, but I would imagine he will because he is a clever enough lad.

“When I was in that goldfish bowl, I had a lot of things on my side. I had been here since I was 11. I was with the best club. I had my family and I had the manager.

“Of course, you can have all those things and still go off the rails, so a lot depends on the individual.”

Despite his European suspension, Rooney is available for Saturday’s must-win clash with Blackburn, with Giggs also hopeful of being involved.

With Roy Keane and Gabriel Heinze both out, Ferguson desperately requires some added experience, so, after Gary Neville returned to training this week, the United boss will hope the veteran defender has recovered sufficiently from his recent groin problem to face Mark Hughes’ men.