At half-time of this bow the Manchester United manager, Ryan Giggs, reached for a familiar electrical device: 1-0 up after an uneven opening, he decided the hairdryer, bequeathed from Sir Alex Ferguson, his mentor for 22 seasons, was required.

Giggs turned it to "medium" and United added three second-half strikes to canter home to three points for their new No1 before an ecstatic congregation.

Whatever the precise words Giggs offered at the break, they had the desired effect. This was further evidence that perhaps what was most impressive about the Welshman a week into his leadership of the club is how his thoughts on the game are articulated.

The feelgood factor and release from the ill-received David Moyes would always ensure players would rediscover their fizz again, as they did in this rout of a struggling Norwich City. Yet the lucid – and open – way Giggs spoke afterwards portrayed a 40-year-old with the requisite intelligence the best managers have. Asked how surreal it was to be in charge, he said: "Yeah, it was strange. How many times do you get up? Do you sit in your seat? Like you guys asked [on Friday], what are you going to wear?

"It's all things I'm not used to, even though I've played so many games for the club. Leaving players out, though, that was really tough."

Giggs chose a club suit and expensive shoes and looked slick. But when mentioning those dropped for his inaugural XI, Giggs touched upon a show of ruthlessness. Juan Mata, who has impressed in the No10 berth, was relegated to the bench, while Marouane Fellaini could not force himself into the match-day 18. That was £64.6m worth of Moyes's purchases informed they might not be good enough for Giggs.

Too much can be read into only 90 minutes of management. Yet a golden touch was suggested when the interim manager introduced Mata as his opening substitution after an hour. Three minutes later the Spaniard scored the first of two goals, to go with a Wayne Rooney double either side of the break, the first goal under Giggs being a 41st-minute penalty.

United want Louis van Gaal as their permanent manager. Yet if results continue this way until the close of the season fans will surely demand Giggs. Again, a smooth response was offered. "I'll deal with that, hopefully. If I have got four wins, I'll deal with it then," he said. "But there's so many things and aspects to this job, I haven't really got time to look too far ahead."

The guidance from United is that Giggs ticks all boxes except the one marked "experience". He said: "Yeah, that's right, I've said that. I'm outside my comfort zone and I've quickly had to do so many things that I've never done before but I've enjoyed it. It's been a challenge but I must say the players and the staff have been brilliant. I've had really good support."

Last week Ferguson said United should give the job to Giggs full time. This, plus the unique experience acquired from being at United since boyhood, should surely count for something when the decision is made?

"I don't know – I have obviously been at the club for a long time and I know the ins and outs of the club," said Giggs.

"But, like I said, there's so many other things that come with the job that I never knew did, because I've never been in that position before. They all add up during the day and they all add up during the week and it's tough. It's a real tough job but one that I'm enjoying the challenge of and hopefully will continue enjoying until the end of the season."

Despite Nemanja Vidic's departure, then, and the futures of Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand being in the balance, Giggs believes United can be contenders again.

"Yeah, I'm confident that the players that are at the club can challenge next year," he said. "Its going to be hard, obviously, because we've had a tough season and obviously the lads at Liverpool have improved and other teams around us have. But I'm confident we have got the players."

He is clear that the summer transfer window should be enough to close any quality gap to Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

"We won the league last year," said Giggs. "The year before we lost it on goal difference, the year before that we won it. Liverpool: where did they come last year – seventh? Who would have said they'd be where they are this year? So a lot can change. We've certainly got the players, we've got everything in place to have a successful season next year."

His team's performance against Norwich had been, perhaps, a little better than under Moyes on occasion this term. Really, though, four matches may not be enough to make any serious judgments on Giggs's managerial acumen.

But they should provide an intriguing snapshot of how United would play under him in a full campaign. And we already know Giggs has located the hairdryer.

Man of the match Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)