Word got back to the manager and the players were ordered to do extra training on Wednesday, which was their day off. The three players then did extra training this morning when the rest of the squad were preparing for today’s game against Blackburn.

Rooney was seen watching the game from the stands and the players have apparently been fined.

“Before the game I was delighted to be given the armband, but I’d happily take that away to have the victory instead,” he said. “It’s good that the manager plays the younger lads, but unfortunately we’ve not managed to get the result. My first game was in the Carling Cup and it didn’t turn out as well as we expected, but the lads have got to keep focused and work hard on their games.”

In more recent times, whilst the likes of Darren Fletcher and John O’Shea have had long stints in the first team following poor form, the likes of Kieran Richardson and Phil Bardsley weren’t so lucky.

Evans has today spoken about how he had to have a change in attitude to make sure that he wasn’t another former youth team player who had to leave the club.

“If you look back over the years a lot of youngsters have come into the team and had a good season or two, then taken a little dip,” Evans said. “Sometimes you do think you are immune from it and maybe I took my eye off the ball a little bit. Maybe I relaxed a bit too much and thought it was going to come as easily as the previous two seasons. All of a sudden it hits you. You just have to regroup and have a word with yourself.”

He’s been playing well this season though, competing with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling for the central defensive positions when Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have been out with injury.

“I feel more assured now,” he said. “When you go through a stage of not playing well, there is a bit of pressure. Sometimes you can feel the crowd are getting on your back. In the end it was a case of ‘stuff it, what have I got to lose’. The thing in my favour was that I have never been one to shirk a challenge. Whenever things are tough, I always feel as though I can respond and not hide away. Now I go out there and relax, play my football and go home.”

“It is weird,” he said. “It is hard to believe Phil Jones is only 19. Chris Smalling is 21. David de Gea is 20. We have the Da Silva brothers. The average age against Tottenham was 23. I was just over on months. It has given the young players an incentive to step up to the mark. You cannot be a kid anymore and sit back and let things happen. You have to stamp your authority on the team.”

However, after a couple of seasons in the first team squad, filling in whenever Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic were unable to play, Evans endured a stinker of a season last year. Too many times he was at fault for opposition goals and really seemed to struggle in the air against most opponents.

Evans has acknowledged this poor form and claimed that he has worked hard to put it right.

“Of the three seasons since I came back from Sunderland, the last one was my most difficult,” he said. “I didn’t hit the form I wanted. I went away and thought maybe I have another year, if I had another season like that I am sure the manager wouldn’t want me around. I wasn’t playing consistently to a good enough standard for Manchester United so I have gone back to basics and worked hard.”

Whilst Evans was confident the club wouldn’t sell him after one bad season, the departures of Wes Brown and John O’Shea made him realise nobody was safe.

“The manager never said anything to me and I never went to see him,” he continued. “I was pretty confident the manager wouldn’t get rid of me. I have always thought he has a bit of faith in me. Maybe you do have the odd doubt but I thought it would have been unfair if I had left, considering the two seasons I had before. Last year wasn’t a total disaster. There were times when I did feel good and others where I felt I needed that level of consistency every week. I was on holiday when I heard John and Wes were in talks with Sunderland and would be leaving. It did make me think there was room but no matter who the manager gets rid of, or signs, there are so many players who can step into so many different positions it is crazy. If you are not in his plans he will move you on. If you are here you have a great chance of being involved.”

“I am not superstitious at all,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me. I got a phone call one day and they said the manager wanted to know if I wanted the number six shirt. I said: ‘Why not?’ It’s more of a defender’s number than 23 and looks a bit nicer. Tom Cleverley’s got 23 now and I’m sure he’ll take good care of it. But I am sure the manager doesn’t really think about stuff like that – and I don’t either. I don’t have anything like that going on in my head.”

“I have always thought that being at a club like Manchester United, if you can’t accept a challenge of someone wanting your spot, you don’t deserve to be here,” he said. “That is what Manchester United is all about. You are constantly being tested. It is down to you, whether you are good enough, or whether you are putting the effort in to play for the first team.”

Despite criticism from some sections of the press and rival fans, Bolton manager Owen Coyle said it was a “50-50 challenge” and reckoned it was “it looked as though two players were committed going for the ball.” Today, Holden has also claimed that Evans was not to blame and for as frustrating as it is for him, is just one of those things.

On Twitter: “Just had a sincere phone call from Jonny Evans wishing me the best in my recovery, def wasn’t intentional, just unfortunate part of the game.”

Jonny Evans was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Stuart Holten which saw the Bolton player receive a cut on his leg. Both players’ feet left the ground, with Evans’ winning the ball, but after the Bolton player came off worse, Evans was sent off.

Fergie’s right, the refs are shite.

Nominees: Darron Gibson, Michael Carrick and Jonny Evans
In 2010, Darron Gibson started five games in the first team (four of those in the league, one in Europe) and in this games has played for 90 minutes just once. Yet when he plays badly or the team doesn’t do well, fans are very quick to get on his case. I’m no Gibson fan, the jury is still out as far as I’m concerned, but when you think of how much time Darren Fletcher was afforded in the starting XI before he came good (03-04: 22 league games, 35 all competitions. 04-05: 18 league games, 30 all competitions. 05-06: 27 league games, 41 all competitions. 06-07: 25 league games, 40 all competitions), with fans berating him every time he played, I’m less inclined to judge Gibson so quickly. He’s certainly shown signs of more ability that Fletcher ever had done in his first few seasons, scoring that beauty against Hull on the last day of the 08-09 season, as well as the two he got against Spurs last season, goals against Bolton and West Ham, but more importantly, the goal against Bayern Munich in the European Cup quarter-finals, if not for the mistakes of Rafael/Carrick, would have helped us through to the semi-finals, and from there, who knows…

Michael Carrick has had a massive fall from grace, mostly down to a lack of confidence, which has seen him lose a lot of favour with even the fans who have always supported him. He rarely does anything dreadful but far too often his contribution has been massively limited. We don’t need a player in the centre of the park passing the ball five yards to the defender behind him or another midfielder beside him. We need someone controlling the pace of the game, spraying the ball forward and playing in killer balls which can lead to goals.

I don’t think Jonny Evans can win this award for being a scapegoat. If we had a rapid decline award, he’d get that instead. He’s been blamed for a lot of dropped points because, unfortunately, it has far too often been his mistakes and his man that have denied us the win.

Winner: Darron Gibson