Captain Evra fires Man Utd

Patrice Evra launched a scathing attack on his own club Manchester United after they were dumped out of Europe by Athletic Bilbao.

Evra, who is captain of the team in place of the injured Nemanja Vidic this season, said, “From the beginning this season it has been a disaster in Europe. I think we have to tell the truth. We never played well and we deserved to go out.

“We never played in Europe with the same desire that we have shown in the Premier League this season. We have to accept that.

“Maybe we were too confident at the beginning of the Champions League. Maybe we were thinking we have the reputation and would go through easily, but we ended up going out in Basel.

“It’s been a bad season for Manchester United in Europe, and we can’t disagree with that.”

United can go four points clear in the league by beating Wolves on Sunday, as City's next game, at home to Chelsea, is not until Wednesday.

“It’s not an excuse for Manchester United,” he said. “A club of this stature has to concentrate and try to win every competition. That is the truth.
“But now, yes, we don’t have any choice. We have to focus on the league and if we want to save the season we have to win the league, because if we don’t then we would have had a really bad season.”

“You can see the ­difference in the Premier League,” said Evra. “We are more focused in the Premier League. We have to tell you the truth.

 “I don’t know why. If I had the answer, it would never have happened. We didn’t start well in Europe this season and now we have gone out in this competition as well.

“We have to be honest with ourselves. We don’t deserve to be in the Champions League or in the Europa League. That’s it.”