Jonny Evans has shed light on an unexpected part of his transition into a coaching role at Manchester United.
Coaching shift
Evans came through the ranks at the club before debuting for the first team in 2007. He was a key player under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.
In his first United stint, Evans helped the club to win three Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy. He departed in 2015 for West Bromwich Albion after falling out of favour under Louis van Gaal.
He also spent a period at Leicester City, whose relegation prompted Evans to return to Old Trafford on a short-term arrangement. He initially trained with the squad, subsequently signing a one-year contract in September 2023. His experience and leadership in the dressing room proved crucial, especially during a challenging period under Erik ten Hag.
Evans was instrumental as United won the FA Cup in 2024, beating cross-town rivals Manchester City in the final. He parted ways with the Red Devils for a second time at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, before then coming back to assume the role of United’s head of loans and pathways.
The former Northern Ireland international held the position for only six months before departing, only to rejoin as part of Michael Carrick’s coaching team.
Evans appears to be doing well as a coach, earning repeated praise from Carrick and the players, especially for his set-piece prowess.
The 38-year-old spoke to club media and explained how he has found the transition into coaching. He also named the fact that he coaches his former teammates, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire, as one of the strangest aspects of the job.
Evans speaks
He said, “It’s been really good. Obviously I’ve known Michael a long time, and it’s been really easy to come in with Steve and Woody and Trav, [who has] obviously worked with the Under-21s.”
“The club’s like my home almost, so day to day just feels natural for me. On the coaching side of it, I just feel like I’m learning every day. Your mind’s thinking in different ways. I’ve really enjoyed it and hopefully I can continue that on and learn more towards the end of the season.”
On coaching Shaw and Maguire, he answered, “The first couple of days felt a little bit strange, I can’t lie.”
“I’ve got for example big Harry, he’s my centre-back partner and I’ve played with him for two different clubs, and all of a sudden that’s flipped now and I’m now coaching him.”
“We would have talked about the game in the past and I suppose you can still make it a bit of a conversation and a discussion, but there’s lads like Shawy and that. He was 19 when he signed here the first time and I was already playing in the first team, so little dynamics like that.”
Evans added, “Obviously now I’m trying to put sessions on for them, so it probably took me a week or two to adjust but after that you just feel it flowing.”
When United face Leeds on Monday, it will be the side’s first game in 24 days. While there may be concerns of rustiness after such an extended break, Evans is confident that no effort has been spared in preparing for the contest.
“We probably feel similar to fans in a way. Everyone loves that stimulus of a matchday and how the adrenaline gets up, so when you haven’t got that for a while, it can be quite difficult to keep the training going and keep the ideas flowing.”
“Especially for the players, keeping their minds active, but that’s why I said before we gave them a few days off after internationals and then hopefully now we’ve got a little run, almost looking towards the end of the season. We’ve got little blocks of games and you can break it down into two and three games at a time, leading up to the end of the season.”
United vs. Leeds kicks off at 20:00 GMT.
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