Manchester United's Patrice Evra: 'We are beautiful when we make the game easy'

Posted Saturday, October 01, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Manchester United defender Patrice Evra insists his team should play with ease and return to the form it exhibited earlier in the season.

"When they come to Old Trafford they have to be scared and know they will not enjoy their football and they will find it hard," Evra told Manchester United’s official website. “It’s a responsibility for everyone – not only the defenders and the goalkeeper, but the midfielders and the strikers as well. We have to press more like we did in the first few games and not let other teams have time to play"

United failed to beat Basel in mid-week - with the game ending 3-3 - but Evra thinks the injuries at the back do not serve as an excuse.

Sir Alex Ferguson described the Red Devils' performance as ‘too cavalier’ and Evra is confident his side can return to form against Norwich this weekend.

“It’s been difficult [having a changing back four], but when you play for Manchester United you can’t look for excuses," said Evra. "It’s not difficult to get the balance right [of attacking and defending]. None of our games have been easy, but we made them look easy at the beginning of the season because we worked hard, we were compact and everything about our shape was right."

The full-back hopes that his club can go back to its early season form that saw it dominate the Premier League.

"I think if we just go back to that we’re going to resolve the problem," he continued. "It’s not a disaster, it’s just a good warning and a wake-up call. We are beautiful when we make the game easy, but we can be ugly if we don’t make the effort and do what we need to do! We have to make sure on Saturday we defend like a team, stay compact and try to keep a clean sheet."

The French international believes United must start Saturday’s game strongly, particularly against weaker opposition.

"If a team like Norwich get to half-time and it’s still level, their confidence will be really high," said the defender. "They will think they maybe have a chance and could win the game. That’s why on Saturday we need to show from the start of the game they have no chance. It’s the Theatre of the Dreams – but it must be for us and not for the other team."