Evans: We need to be patient

Jonny Evans believes Manchester United need to be more patient at Old Trafford if they are to stop conceding the kind of goals that sent them spinning to New Year’s Day defeat against Tottenham.

The 2-1 reverse was United’s sixth loss of David Moyes’ debut campaign as manager.

And whilst most of the post-game analysis centred around referee Howard Webb’s failure to award a penalty after Hugo Lloris had taken out Ashley Young near the end, it ignored the concession of two more needless goals that left United chasing the game.

It is not the first time it has happened either.

The Red Devils’ dire home form is the major reason why they remain five points off a Champions League slot.

And Evans feels the answer may lie in adopting a less ambitious approach in front of their own fans.

“It is hard to explain,” said the defender.

“They caught us on the break a little bit for the two goals so maybe we need to be a bit more patient.

“Maybe at home we are leaving ourselves a bit too open. We want to entertain our fans and score goals but maybe that is to our detriment a bit.”

The result extended a disappointing sequence against the Premier League’s top sides.

Eight matches against the sides who accompany United in the present top eight of the Premier League have so far yielded a miserly five points.

It is evidently not good enough to sustain any kind of meaningful title defence and unless it improves markedly over the second half of the season it will cost them a place in next season’s Champions League.

“It is disappointing but we will keep plugging away,” said Evans.

“We actually played quite well in the previous six games but we have started the new year on a bad foot and we need to get positive results again.”

Meanwhile, Danny Rose believes Emmanuel Adebayor’s return to the Tottenham side has also sparked Roberto Soldado into life.

Adebayor had effectively been exiled by former manager Andre Villas-Boas, who preferred to use just one forward and attack from midfield positions.

It left Soldado isolated and struggling to justify the club-record £26 million transfer fee that brought him to White Hart Lane from Valencia in the summer.

The installation of Tim Sherwood as Villas-Boas’ replacement last month has triggered a dramatic series of events, with Adebayor welcomed back into the fold, doubling Tottenham’s attacking contingent and offering Soldado some support.

Three wins and a draw over the festive period has underlined the value of Sherwood’s tactical switch.

And whilst Adebayor’s four goals in five games have captured the headlines, Soldado has been rejuvenated too.

“No disrespect to Andre but playing one up front has been a bit frustrating and hard for Soldado at times,” said Rose. “It is nice that he has got a bit of help up there with Adebayor.”