Reds Rib Robin

Patrice Evra says all the players were delighted to see Robin van Persie back on the scoresheet at Stoke, but revealed he has had plenty of stick for his goal celebration.

The Dutchman ended a drought of 10 games without scoring for Manchester United in Sunday's 2-0 win at the Britannia when he won and converted a second-half penalty.

He immediately ran towards the United bench after seeing the ball hit the back of the net and jumped into the arms of an equally jubilant Sir Alex Ferguson.

"It has been difficult for Robin. He has had a lot of stick from us. For two or three days we have been getting at him!" Evra joked, when asked by PA Sport and Talksport about the goal celebration.

"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 said to us, 'Hands up guys, it was an emotional game. I did it, it is okay, we can move on now'.

"It was nice. I can see a lot of love and emotion. It is the first time we saw that [from Robin]. It is good to see love like that on the pitch sometimes. I always say the atmosphere at this club is great. That is a big strength for Manchester United."

Sunday's victory means the Reds are within seven points of reclaiming the championship crown and Evra says that, in Sir Alex, the players have the perfect person to guide them to glory.

"The boss is a winner," Evra said. "He has just told us to win the six games that are left. He said before the Stoke game that the season starts now. 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 six games. We can still break the record [points total]. That is what he wants.

"The challenge for us is to win the six games we have left. It won't be easy but that is the way the boss wants us to play."