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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Jack Flintham

Patrice Evra reveals what he told Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag about Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra trusts Erik ten Hag's process but has warned that he needs to stop making the same mistakes in post-match interviews.

United were second best on Sunday as they fell to a 3-1 defeat away at Aston Villa. A quickfire Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne double had the Reds on the ropes in the first half at Villa Park.

However a heavily deflected strike from Luke Shaw pulled United back into the game at half-time. That good fortune was undone though just four minutes after the interval as Jacob Ramsey slotted home to put Unai Emery's men.

ALSO READ: What Ten Hag told United supporters at Carrington

Despite the disappointing setback, which followed United finishing second in their Europa League group, Evra told Betfair that he still has faith in Ten Hag. "I want to give credit to Aston Villa and to their new manager," he explained.

"I knew it was going to be a trap. It was the first game in charge for Unai Emery, he has unfinished business because I don’t think he liked the way he left England, I think Arsenal treated him unfairly, especially for a manager with so much experience.

"[As] for United, I'm not surprised, I know it's going to be a rollercoaster. There will be ups and downs. I wasn't confident going into that game, but I still trust the process. I still trust Ten Hag.

"When I spoke to him at the Tottenham game, I asked him to stop answering questions about [Cristiano] Ronaldo, but he keeps making the same mistakes. Now, it's about the captaincy and he doesn't have to justify himself, he's the Man United manager. He's going to get criticised about that. He's going to get criticised about selecting his team.

"Sometimes Ten Hag's team won't perform, we saw that at the start of the season. Sometimes they follow the plan, sometimes they don't.

"Before the [Manchester] City match I was confident, but they let down Ten Hag. It's like there's something wrong with this team.

"I'm convinced with Ten Hag, I'm convinced about this manager, and I trust the process, but there's something he needs to fix with his players, especially with his communication outside, he needs to stop justifying himself."

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