Robbie Savage made his decision early. Determined to prevent Manchester United from overrunning Derby in the sides' FA Cup fifth-round tie on Sunday, the midfielder crunched into Cristiano Ronaldo after five minutes of play with a tackle that was fair but also hard and suggested Savage had picked out the Portuguese as United's key man.

There was nothing silly about that, but anyone who has watched United in recent weeks could have told Savage that he was going after the wrong man. Instead it was the more craggy-faced forward in red that he should have been targeting, the one who appears to be waging a personal war against the forces of time.

Ryan Giggs's display at Pride Park was exceptional. Deployed just off Ronaldo in United's most unconventional front pairing of the season, the 35-year-old ran the game, contributing to three of the visitors' four goals and moving through the Derby defence with unrelenting ease. Cynics will say that Giggs was doing this all against a struggling Championship side. However, the display was no one-off but rather part of a collection of recent showings that have also taken in wins over Chelsea and West Ham United. Giggs's decisive goal in the victory over West Ham made him the only man to have scored in every Premier League season.

It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the Welshman is being touted as this season's player of the year. Alan Hansen has already given him his vote and, having watched in marvel from close range, Savage also believes his Welsh compatriot should claim the honour.

"Ryan has completely redefined his role," said Savage of a player he ­developed alongside in United's youth team of the early 1990s. "He plays in the middle, he plays out wide, he plays up front. He's a credit to himself and every time he plays he seems to get man of the match. For me he is definitely the player of the year."

In pure numbers, Giggs's contribution to United's season has been slight. He has started only 15 games and scored three goals. But what has wowed observers has been the consistency of his contributions at such a mature age and that he has excelled from a variety of positions. It seems absurd now that some United fans jeered Giggs following his display in a League Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers in January 2003 and quite justifiably the club's board has just tied him to a further year at Old Trafford.

"Ryan doesn't have the lifestyle of a superstar but he is a superstar in his own right, with the adulation and everything," Savage added. "The only thing he is missing is the World Cup ... if he'd played for England that might have been different."

Perhaps, but as the holder of United's appearance record progresses through his 19th season at his only club the focus will be to add to an already substantial medal collection.

Sir Alex Ferguson does not believe United can win the quintuple but Savage begs to differ. "This is their best squad ever and there is no doubt they can win everything," he said. "I'd go to watch them on my days off, they're just magnificent."

Having secured the Club World Cup in December, United's next chance to clutch silverware comes in the Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur. Ferguson has put out a shadow team throughout the competition so far and for one of those who have been given their chance as a result, the midfielder Darron Gibson, who has played in every round, there was a call yesterday for the United manager to stick by his word and again deploy fringe players at Wembley on 1 March.

"The Carling Cup has been good for me so fingers crossed I will play in the final," said Gibson, a scorer in the 4-1 win over Derby. "The young players are coming in and taking their chances so hopefully we can go all the way."