Stunned: Manchester United's defence look
shellshocked after Ronaldinho's opener - but it was Evans (centre)
who bore the brunt of Fergie's wrath as he was
the nearest!
Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed how he tore into Jonny
Evans at the San Siro on Tuesday night after watching his defence
become ‘unnerved’ by Milan’s opening blitz in the Champions
League.
Ferguson was held back by assistant Mike Phelan as he screamed
at Evans to ‘f****** wake up’ after Paul Scholes’ lucky equaliser
had wiped out Ronaldinho’s opener.
After the Fergie hairdryer treatment, United went on to recover
from a dreadful half to beat AC Milan 3-2.
But last night the United boss admitted: ‘I was just giving him
a gentle bit of advice!
‘Our whole back four were going to get it, but he’s unfortunate
he was the nearest defender to me. They had to compose themselves,
that was the most important thing. After that, they settled and got
very composed and got back to their normal game.
‘The result was very different because of that.’Ferguson said in
an American radio interview that the atmosphere had unsettled his
team. He said: ‘The one thing that’s so amazing is that for the
first 15 minutes I felt in shock, really in shock, because the
atmosphere was unbelievable. Coupled with the noise when they
scored, it unnerved me and it unnerved my players.
‘No matter how much experience you have got, you get drawn into
that cauldron of noise — and to get through that really did take a
lot of courage.’
Blast: Evans felt the full force of Fergie's
fury
With United facing vital games — they travel to Everton
tomorrow and entertain West Ham on Tuesday — Ferguson will hope
Wayne Rooney continues his hot streak of form. He has scored 25
goals this season and is benefiting from playing in his favoured
position of central striker. In previous years, the 24-year-old had
been shifted about to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ferguson said: ‘We didn’t use him properly last season. We were
probably having to exploit his eagerness and enthusiasm to play
anywhere. ‘But we know his strengths, we know where he’s best and
that’s where we’re using him this season.
‘I always told him that to be a world-class forward you need to
have a really consistent goal performance. This season he is now on
25 and there are still 14 or 15 matches to go. So it does put him
in the class of being not just a great player, but also a great
goalscorer.’
World class: Rooney outpaces Massimo Ambrosini in
the San Siro
United will expect to see off Milan in the second leg on
March 10 when David Beckham returns to his old club for the first
time since 2003.
It was suggested to Ferguson that Beckham can only play well on
the wing and not in a central midfield role he took up in Italy,
and the United boss replied: ‘Yeah, that’s true there.’
Nemanja Vidic may be fit in time for the Milan return and last
night claimed he wants to stay until his contract expires in 2012.
This will not happen unless he signs a new one in the meantime,
which is unlikely, but Vidic said: ‘I’ve never had a conflict of
any kind with Sir Alex and rife speculation that I want to leave
United is completely untrue. I have a contract until 2012 and I’ve
every intention of seeing it through to the very last day.
‘United have made me the player I am today and there is no
substance whatsoever in rumours that I have been looking for a move
away.’