Evra will not follow RVPs example and jump into Fergies arms

Van Persie's instinctive reaction to ending a 10-game goal drought at Stoke on Sunday was to race to the away dugout and jump into the arms of the man who paid Arsenal ?24million to bring him to Old Trafford in the summer. The Dutchman's reaction has created a great deal of hilarity in the United dressing room too.

Not that Evra dare a repeat. "No chance. Never," said the France defender. "Maybe I will do it with my team-mates. But not with the gaffer. He is older. Imagine I go in too strong against him. He could fall, then he might sack me. I will never do that."

Evra could barely keep a straight face as he delivered his assessment of Van Persie's reaction.

"Robin has had a lot of stick from us," said Evra. "It was nice. I could see a lot of love and emotion. It is the first time we saw that. Robin can tell you, for two or three days we have been getting at him. It is good to see love like that on the pitch sometimes."

The banter, even at the expense of such a high-profile personality, underlines the spirit within the United squad presently driving them towards a record 20th league title.

"I always say the atmosphere at this club is great," said Evra. "That is a big strength for Manchester United. To be fair, Robin told us he was really emotional.

"He had not scored for 10 games. He just showed the passion and the way he wanted to win. He just said 'hands up guys, it was an emotional game. I did it, it is OK, we can move on now'."

United have now moved on from Stoke to West Ham, where they play on Wednesday searching for the first three of the seven points still needed to grab the Premier League trophy back from Manchester City. Ferguson refuses to think like that until the job is finished, though, and evidently none of his players are thinking that way either.

"The boss is a winner," Evra said. "He said before the Stoke game that the season starts now. He has just told us to win the seven games that are left. That shows you the way he wants to win this 20th title. He told us not to think about the title, just think about winning these seven games."

Source: PA

Source: PA