Michael Carrick wants Manchester United to lay down an early marker in their Champions League campaign with victory over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
After a 17-month break, United will return to Champions League action on Tuesday when they travel to PSV.
United's failure to qualify for Europe's top club competition under David Moyes cost them ranking points and they were seeded second in the group stage draw last month.
PSV were the top seeds, so Tuesday's game at the Philips Stadion is, on paper, the toughest contest Louis van Gaal's men will face in Group B.
But rather than see that as a negative, Carrick views Tuesday's game as a chance to get off to a good start in the group.
"It's a tough start but in some ways it's not a bad thing," the midfielder told Inside United.
"If we can go there and get a good result that will set us up nicely.
"We are fully confident and quite positive about how it can turn out for us."
There are plenty of sub-plots to the game in Holland.
Memphis Depay will make his first return to the Philips Stadion just a couple of months after ending his successful nine-year spell with PSV.
Van Gaal brought PSV coach Phillip Cocu to Barcelona in 1998 before making him the captain during his first stint in charge of Holland two years later.
Carrick believes that will only add more significance to an occasion that is already of high importance to both sets of fans.
"The manager will know all about PSV and of course Memphis will still be popular there," said the United midfielder, who played both legs of the club's play-off win against Club Brugge recently.
"Obviously there are big links there, so I am not surprised the draw came out. A lot will be made of it I am sure but it will be a good game for us."
PSV have experienced a summer of upheaval since they won their first Eredivisie in seven years.
Depay, the league's top scorer last term, joined United for £25million and influential midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum left for Newcastle.
Mexican duo Hector Moreno and Andres Guardado have been drafted in, as well as Uruguayan midfielder Gaston Pereiro.
In theory, a group containing PSV, Wolfsburg and CSKA Moscow should not prove problematic for the three-time European champions, but Morgan Schneiderlin does not believe it will necessarily be a walk in the park for him and his United team-mates.
"They are three very good teams," the Frenchman said.
"People may look at the group and think it will be easy for Manchester United because we have avoided the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Of course it could be worse but these are three very good teams."
