Evans: There's much more to come

19 October 2009 15:14
JONNY Evans is beginning to despair of ever breaking his Manchester United goalscoring duck. The Northern Ireland international has excelled during the past two seasons at Old Trafford. In fact, his performances have been so good, Sir Alex Ferguson has wondered out loud whether he is being fair with the 21-year-old when he leaves him out of his Reds starting line-up. Considering the alternatives are Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, that statement alone says much about Evans' recent form. What he cannot do though is score. Another chance went begging on Saturday when he failed to steer a header past Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. It was another frustrating failure for the Belfast-born youngster, who admits he is now getting irritated by the problem. "I don't think I will ever get a goal," he groaned. "I saw it on the replay and I should have done better. I should have put it more in the corner but you see the glory and close your eyes." Evans might be getting annoyed with himself but it is the only area of complaint as far as Ferguson is concerned. After making 32 appearances last term, the 21-year-old is already up to eight this season, with the promise of another one to come in Moscow on Wednesday when United take on CSKA in the Luzhniki Stadium looking to maintain their 100% record in Group B. Not that Evans is taking anything for granted. Evans learning curve Indeed, after adopting a safety-first attitude during his rookie season in the United first team, he is now looking to show a bit more of the talent which Sunderland saw during a couple of impressive loan spells at the Stadium of Light. "I am still learning and improving all the time but I feel like there is a lot more to come," he said. "Last season was a decent one for me but I was playing within myself a bit. "Because it was my first real season in the team I just stuck to the defending side of things. It was a conscious decision to play it safe and make sure I wasn't at fault for any goals, I just generally wanted to concentrate on defending above all else. "This year I need to try and get on the ball and express myself a bit more. I am not saying I will be trying to dribble all the way through the opposition from now on, just that I need to be a bit more outgoing on the pitch and a bit more commanding." With the eagerly-anticipated Anfield blockbuster with Liverpool looming on Sunday, Ferguson will not want to take any risks with his squad, particularly as a draw would be a perfectly acceptable conclusion on the ground where United enjoyed one of their finest moments by beating Chelsea to lift the Champions League trophy in the rain two seasons ago. Evans was not involved that night, although he was on the bench in May as United were given a spanking by Barcelona, which leaves them thirsting for revenge. One senses if the Red Devils manage to make it to three finals on the trot in Madrid next spring, Ferguson might not find it so easy to leave Evans out, although the player himself is taking all the plaudits in his stride. "The manager likes to give the players little boosts sometimes," said Evans. "He is going to have to leave me out at times during the season and he can say things that make you feel good while he is leaving you out. "It is nice that he is saying those things and if he is thinking that way it shows that I am doing something right. That's good because Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are unbelievable players." United will definitely be without injured Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra, Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher, who have not travelled to Russia. However, Nemanja Vidic is with the squad despite remaining doubtful.

Source: Manchester_EveningNews