Jonny Evans has admitted Louis van Gaal’s new style can be tough for Manchester United to adapt to, though the defender believes it will prove beneficial in the long term.
The Northern Irishman returned to the team after more than a fortnight out with a foot injury for Tuesday’s FA Cup victory over Cambridge United. The 3-0 win over the League Two side took United through to face League One’s Preston North End in the fifth round and United are third in the Premier League despite an uneven campaign.
Van Gaal has described his approach as being to retrain players to think rather than act on instinct and there have also been differing formations. Evans said: “The lads have taken a lot on board. At times it has been tough and it takes time. We’ve been used to playing a certain way for a number of years then the change [of manager] happens and he wants us to play a certain way. So it does take time for those things to become second nature. But you are starting to see that now.
“The fact that the formation has changed a lot has taught the lads an awful lot. Coming into games, if we do have any changes in formation I think it is a big plus for us to have. The fact we are using different formations against different teams can only benefit us in the long run.”
United have been criticised on occasion for not being entertaining yet Evans, pointing to team-mates such as Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao, Ángel di María and Juan Mata, said: “When you get as many attacking players on the pitch as we’ve got you are always going to entertain. But the manager has done a lot of work in trying to steady the team and making sure everyone knows their jobs. Once we get that nailed on, and everyone knows their defensive jobs, then I think we’ll be able to push on from that and be really entertaining again.
“You can look at the formation changes and the personnel changes as well, plus the fact that there’s a lot of players who haven’t played together before, and he [the manager] is doing fantastically well in getting us organised. And as players we’re really benefitting from that.
“Going back to the start of the season, it was a bit mixed. Take the Leicester game – conceding five goals pushes the amount of goals conceded really high. But if you take that out of the equation, I still think we’ve defended all right in the league and long may that continue.”
After the defeat of Cambridge Van Gaal said United are favourites for the Cup and advised that his side are worth a bet to win it. “You want to win everything but it is such a historic trophy, especially for Manchester United, and the fact that the league is still not gone but not looking likely, the FA Cup looks our best chance of a trophy, especially considering some of the teams that have gone out,” said Evans.
“We’re the highest-ranked team left in the competition now. It was a bit of a shock sitting at home hearing the news that Chelsea and City had gone out. But we know from our own experiences all about upsets. Leeds came here a few years ago and beat us so we know upsets can happen in the FA Cup.”
United are five points behind second-placed Manchester City as they prepare for the trip to West Ham United for Sunday afternoon’s late game. “West Ham is never an easy game at the best of times, never mind the fact that this season they have been on a great run and are playing with a lot of confidence,” said Evans.
Of the bid to secure a Champions League berth, he added: “We’d like to pull away but we know football doesn’t work like that. Arsenal have gone on a bit of a run, so have Liverpool – they are coming really strong. They are the big teams we will be looking out for. And obviously you have Spurs and West Ham as well while Southampton have been on a fantastic run.”
