Jonny Evans: Erik ten Hag should stay on as Man Utd boss… but I still don’t know where I’ll be next season

The 36-year-old defender also said that, while he would love to ‘play forever’, he does not know about his own future at international or club level as contract talks with United are set to go on after Northern Ireland’s June friendly games against Spain and Andorra.

It was Ten Hag who brought Evans back to United on a one year deal for the 2023/24 season after the former Leicester star impressed last summer during training and he was rewarded, with the experienced centre-back performing well when called upon, eventually leading to glory in the FA Cup.

After United defeated champions Manchester City in the Final at Wembley, where Evans came on as substitute, the Northern Ireland captain backed the under pressure Ten Hag to say.

Asked by the Belfast Telegraph at today’s IFA press conference ahead of Saturday’s clash with Spain if he held the same view, Evans said: “Yeah, of course. I think he is a top class manager.

“The thing that keeps me going is learning about the game and I learnt an awful lot last season with different styles of playing the game and I learnt a lot of things from the manager Ten Hag, so that was quite an eye opener for me. I feel like he has got some great ideas about the game of football.”

At Wembley, Evans made sure that his boss had the chance to lift the FA Cup in the presentation area.

Asked why that was so important to him, the ex-West Brom ace said: “I passed the trophy down to the manager because they were trying to get us off (the presentation area) to go and celebrate on the pitch.

“I passed it to the guy beside me and I saw the manager further on and I didn’t want him to miss out on that moment. I felt like it was a big moment for him. I’m glad he got to lift it like that.

“The manager was great for me, brought me back in and showed a lot of faith in me, so it was nice I suppose he was able to have that moment.”

United announced recently that they were involved in contract talks with Evans, offering hope that he would play on.

Quizzed on his future, the Belfast man said: “I don’t know. It’s still early days. The season has just finished and I think the day after the Cup Final I flew straight to Palma and spent a week here and then met up with the (Northern Ireland) squad in Murcia, and now we are back in Palma so I’ve been on the go.

“I’ve wanted to just concentrate on these two games and meet up with the lads. Once I go back and everything settles down a bit I’m sure I’ll have more conversations with the club.”

Pressed on how long he wants to play on for, Evans commented: “I don’t know if the question is want. The answer to that is you want to play forever. Everyone who plays football, in the moment there’s nothing better. It’s more about how things transpire. So many things have to go into it, your fitness, your age. But if I could answer that, you want to play on for the rest of your life.”

On his last nine months at United, returning for a second spell at his boyhood club, Evans stated: “I’ve loved it, it’s been great being back at my old club. I think it was quite an inconsistent season and obviously our League position doesn’t reflect the club too well.

“To be able to, in the last game of the season in an FA Cup Final, turn out a performance like that, get the club back into a European position and be able to win a trophy, it was great. Personally, to be able to play as much as I did and have as big a contribution, it was quite satisfying.”

As Bruno Fernandes lifted the FA Cup, Evans wore a smile like a joyous youngster.

He said: “I think we all turn into big kids when you win something. I don’t think you ever lose that… the excitement of Cup Finals is what you aim for. There’s nothing better than that with the sudden death of it.”

With his family all United fans, Evans says ticket requests have ‘gone through the roof’. They will hope to see him in a United shirt next season and Northern Ireland fans want to see him play on for them too.

For 18 years, Evans has had desire and quality to play at the top level.

He added: “I love playing football. I’ve had spells, the season before last, where I’ve had injury problems and you miss it when you’re not playing.

“I’ve always tried to have it in the back of my mind that you play when you can. I love playing matches. As you get older, the training becomes a little bit more difficult, but games are what you live for, the adrenaline you get from that.

“The competitiveness of matches, coming off the pitch, whenever you analyse yourself, I still feel like I’m improving as a player. I’m still learning. That’s the biggest thing that keeps me going, having that belief that I can still get better.”