No pressure on my debut, says Tevez

After more than a month of indecision delaying his arrival at Old Trafford, Tevez will make his debut a little sooner than perhaps he anticipated when United endeavour to make up for the disappointing goalless draw with Reading on Sunday with a victory at Fratton Park.

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The expectation on Tevez to produce immediately will be substantial but the 23-year-old Argentinian claimed to be immune to the pressure as he faced the media at last.

'I have never felt pressure when I play football,' he said. 'I always go on to a football pitch to try to enjoy myself, and that is what I will be doing.

'The only thing I can do is to prepare myself the best way possible and try to adapt as quickly as possible so that I can contribute to the team.

'Yes, Wayne Rooney's absence will be a big blow for us because he is such a great player and he will be very difficult to replace.

'But in a big club like United you have a number of individuals who can hopefully slot in and there are many players who can do that job.

'It's just a great achievement for me to be here and obviously my family will be proud. It is a great step to come to such a massive club.

'Now I'm determined to write my own history at the club and do everything possible I can to make sure this club is successful.'

The Tevez circus arrived at United's Carrington training ground in good number yesterday, with a plethora of PR folk, translators, friends and, of course, his 'owner' Kia Joorabchian accompanying him to the press conference hall.

Also on the top table were Sir Alex Ferguson and United's chief executive David Gill, as well as another recent new signing, Anderson. Given the fuss being made at the other end of the table, it was hard not to feel a little sorry for the Brazilian forward.

Still, this is Carlos Tevez we are talking about; one of the world's best players and a man whose protracted transfer at one stage threatened to embarrass the Premier League and, indeed, his former club West Ham long into the autumn.

Gill is a man uncomfortable in the spotlight but yesterday he was frank. It is, he agreed, time for the football world to take another look at the whole business of third party ownership.

Asked if he felt it was time for the subject to be reexamined, he said: 'I wouldn't disagree with that. It's up to FIFA to do something. You always learn from experience.

'Richard Scudamore at the Premier League is a bright chap. I'm sure he'll pick up the rights and wrongs of this affair.

'Third party ownership is ... a feature of the game. But I'm sure things will be learned from this situation and issues will be addressed.'

Having not played any football since the end of the Copa America four weeks ago, Tevez has nevertheless trained with United for a week and will face Portsmouth and then Manchester City on Sunday.

'I feel ready,' he said. 'First of all I want to fight to get into the team, then see what I can achieve at this wonderful club.'

Ferguson insists he based his decision to sign Tevez - on a two-year loan initially - on what he saw from him in the Premiership for West Ham last season, rather than on a reputation made with Argentina.

But he added: 'You saw him against us in the last game of the season and I thought he did brilliantly.

'Most of the time you base your judgment on what you see in training sessions and you get a better feel about players - and Carlos has been absolutely brilliant in training sessions so far.

'I'm really very impressed with him and the other signings - not only for their attitude to work but also the receptive manner in which they have approached the sessions. They have all been very good.'