Evra: MUFC season’s been a ‘nightmare’

Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has delivered a damning assessment of a ‘nightmare’ season at the club.

Following the interim appointment of Ryan Giggs after Moyes was dismissed MUFC have enjoyed a honeymoon period, beating Norwich 4-0 in their first post-Moyes game.

However, Saturday saw the club lose 1-0 to Sunderland, with the seventh home defeat of the season leaving a bitter taste for United, who had been enjoying something of a comeback.

The loss means that United remain at seventh place in the Barclays Premier League table.

Left-back Evra admitted that this campaign is one to forget:

“This year has been a disaster. This year we have been really poor. We deserve all the criticism. We have not played well enough. We have lost some stupid games.

“When we are on the pitch we try to win every game but it’s been so painful this season, it’s been a nightmare. When I look at the table I just feel a big frustration.

“This year is a season I want to forget really quickly.”

Many United players have been reluctant to publicly state why they think the team has performed so badly and Moyes too was often lost for words regarding the shockingly poor results.

However, Evra, 32, has been more forthcoming with answers.

The Frenchman said he believes that confidence within the club plummeted as soon as Moyes took over from Sir Alex Ferguson.

“I think there has been a lack of confidence. Sir Alex Ferguson was the heart of Manchester United. He is a legend. You cannot replace him so quickly.

“We knew it would be difficult but not this difficult. We can do much better than we have done – maybe not win the league but at least qualify for the Champions League with the players we have.”

And Evra, who has won the Premier League five times during his eight-and-a-half-years at Old Trafford, says that everyone at the club has to take some responsibility for the failures.

He said: “Every player has to take responsibility. You always feel responsible even when David Moyes was in charge.

“I will not point the finger at anyone else. This year everyone failed.”

Evra thinks that the club will bounce back though, when manager Louis van Gaal is expected to be in charge.

He said:  “I really think (this year) is an accident. I know Manchester United will never die. And also Manchester will come back next year.

“When we lost the league on goal difference to Manchester City (in 2012) I said Manchester United will win the league by 13 points, and we nearly did. In the end we won it by 11 points. That is my mentality – never give up.”

Evra, who is out of contract at the end of the campaign, is expected to play in next Sunday’s final game of the season at Southampton.

There are rumours that the player is considering a move to Italy’s Inter Milan this summer.

Confronting the hearsay Evra said:

“I will decide in two weeks about what I am going to do.

“There have been a lot of rumours, but I have not decided anything yet. My agent will have a meeting with Manchester and we will see.”