The former Leeds midfielder made special mention on Tuesday night of the strong sense of unity and support which existed between his team and the club's fans during their Carling Cup tie at Derby County, and McAllister was further enthused by the prospect of an attendance of over 30,000 at today's derby with Huddersfield Town at Elland Road.

McAllister was given the difficult task of managing United through the second half of last season while the club's fight against their 15-point deduction was at its height, and he also admitted his present circumstances are a satisfying contrast to his time in charge of Coventry City, when financial issues routinely tied his hands.

His reign at Coventry began in 2002 around the time of the collapse of ITV Digital, a firm who had promised millions of pounds of investment into lower league football but whose failure to provide that money left numerous Football League clubs facing financial hardship.

McAllister said: "The thing that people might not know is that when I took over at Coventry City as player-manager, it was turmoil from a week in.

"ITV Digital went bust and I had to sell everyone and to fend off administration. This is the first time as a manager that I'm at a club where there's no doubt that things are certainly on the up.

"The feeling I had on the sidelines the other night (at Derby) was the sort of feeling I had when I was a player here.

"Our allocation of fans were trying to push their team for the entire 90 minutes, and we were playing at an away ground which felt like a home ground. There were lots of things that night which sparked a few memories for me, and it was nice to be part of it."