Evra: Young Reds Spur Us On

Patrice Evra says the emergence of United's latest crop of young starlets has presented the senior players with a challenge they must rise to.

The likes of Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck have returned to Old Trafford from successful loan spells in great form this season, while new recruits Phil Jones, David De Gea and Ashley Young have taken to life at United will relative ease.

Evra jokes he is now 'scared for my place,' while insisting it’s up to the older pros to lead by example and maintain a high level of performance.

"Manchester United have some great young players," the Frenchman told ManUtd.com. "Cleverley, Welbeck, Macheda and Diouf have all come back from good loan spells and the boss has brought in players like Young, Jones, De Gea and Chris Smalling last year and they’ve done great.

"It’s been like a bonus for us and the experienced players know that everyone has to fight for their place. It’s so difficult for the boss not just to pick the starting XI, but the bench as well. That makes the competition really fierce. Every day every player wants to show the manager they deserve to play.

"I know I have to show them [the young players] that I’m still here and I want to play every game. You have to show you are still fit because they are young and maybe they have more energy and can steal your place.

"Of course though you also have to help them and talk to them. We are here to protect them and show them that reaching the top is one thing, but to stay there is the most difficult thing."

After a near-seamless start to the campaign the Reds were given what Evra described as ‘a good wake-up call’ after letting a 2-0 lead slip against FC Basel last month. Young’s last-minute equaliser earned United an important point in the Champions League clash which Evra believes will prove to be an important learning curve for the team.

"They [the young players] can learn from experiences like that, but first of all the experienced players have to do their job before you say anything to the young players. We have to set the example on the pitch and show that we never give up. Basel was a bad performance, but we never gave up and we got the point," he explains.

"The young players see how hard the senior players train even though many of us have won a lot of trophies. I always say you only have to watch Giggsy in training – he works hard every day. You’d have thought he’d never won anything, yet he’s won every trophy going. That’s the example to follow."

Patrice was talking to ManUtd.com, Key 103 and BBC Sport.