“I think originally – it sounds really bad – I was telling myself: ‘It’s not going to happen,’” says the England left-back, Alex Greenwood, on Casey Stoney’s first contact with her as the manager of the revived Manchester United Women.

It did happen and, sitting in the dugout at the Leigh Sports Village in front of a pristine pitch, where Manchester United Women will play their home games, Greenwood looks relaxed in United training gear.

Sunday the team make history with their first senior competitive match since 2005, at Liverpool. The Continental Tyres Cup tie promises to be a momentous occasion for a side hurriedly brought together once their application for a licence was approved by the Football Association in May.

A number of graduates from United’s regional talent club have returned upon the formation of a senior team. Katie Zelem, who won Serie A with Juventus last term, is among them, while the England internationals Siobhan Chamberlain, Amy Turner and Greenwood help bring experience to the group.

Stoney was keen to make Greenwood a figurehead of her team after the full-back decided to leave Liverpool. At the start of last season expectations on Merseyside were high but the team failed to mount a title challenge. “I couldn’t tell you why,” she says. “We were very inconsistent, we leaked one too many goals in the bigger games. We massively underachieved for the quality we had in that squad and we all knew that.”

But with plenty of options for the dynamic full-back, dropping into the Women’s Championship with the relaunched United was not high on the wishlist until Stoney sat her down.

“I had some fantastic options, Casey being one of them, and I came here thinking I probably wouldn’t sign,” says the 24 year old. “But I sat down with Casey and my decision was made within 30 minutes. Everything else was irrelevant.”

Her former teammate presented a compelling case for Greenwood to sign, she says. “She just hit the nail on the head with everything. Casey knows me, on and off the pitch, and she knows how to get the best out of me. She made it quite clear that she will take me to another level. She’s delivered on everything she’s said up to now and it’s been unbelievable.”

It was a bold decision in a World Cup year. Choosing to step down a division to lead United in their first season did leave her seeking assurances. “Initially, before I signed, it was something I thought about. I had conversations with Phil [Neville, the England Women’s manager] and Casey to make sure this wouldn’t affect my chances for England. I got Phil’s backing 100%. He was honest with me and that’s all I needed.”

Greenwood is one of seven former Liverpool players recruited by Stoney, adding extra spice to Sunday’s opener – and they used to play together. “I had so much respect for Casey as a player and that doesn’t change as a manager. She’s someone I always looked up to. I always knew in games I’d play with her she’d improve me,” she says. “She’s just gone from standing on the right side of me to standing on the left side of me.

“Casey hasn’t changed. Casey will always expect high standards whether she’s on the pitch with you or managing the team. She’s a fantastic role model.”

Alex Greenwood in action for England last year. Photograph: Shaun Brooks/Action Plus via Getty Images

Stoney has handed Greenwood the captaincy. “I’m ready,” she says. “I’ve been through enough experiences to lead this team. It’s an honour. It’s quite a young group. They look up to me and Siobhan, Amy and so on. We’ve got a fantastic mixture of experience and youth in the group.”

“Exciting”, “unbelievable” and “crazy” crop up in almost every sentence from every player involved in the project and Greenwood says that while pre-season is intense, bonding has come surprisingly naturally. She says: “I feel like I’ve known this team for years. We’ve worked hard at that, though, we’ve had to do a lot of stuff away from the pitch. I feel like Casey and the staff have picked a fantastic bunch of players and we’ve all knitted really well.”

For a player who doesn’t switch off from football – the closest she comes to escaping the game is “maybe going for a coffee”, where “I’ll just end up talking football” – there is passion about the type of football the team wants to play.

“I think it’s going to be exciting. We want to play the right way and do things properly, the Manchester United way, we’ll go out to win games and with the ball on the floor. We’ve got a talented bunch.”

Up first is a tasty opener away to Liverpool on Sunday at 2pm. United’s women kick off in the league on 9 September at Aston Villa.