Patience the key for Evans

RIO FERDINAND has urged Jonny Evans to be patient in his battle for a first–team place at Manchester United – even though he knows exactly what the Northern Ireland international is going through.

The 20–year–old will be making only his fourth start of the season when he faces QPR in the Carling Cup at Old Trafford tonight.

And, from his own experience at a similar age when he was at West Ham, Ferdinand knows Evans will be desperate for more.

“Jonny needs to be patient,” said Ferdinand. “The problem is he will also want to play as many games as possible. I was the same when I was a kid. I was behind the likes of Slaven Bilic, Alvin Martin and Marc Rieper.”

Evans has impressed in Champions League games against Villarreal and Celtic, plus the Premier League showdown at Chelsea.

He will be joined by Darron Gibson, Brazilian duo Rafael Da Silva and Rodrigo Possebon, plus strikers Manucho and Daniel Welbeck as Ferguson mixes youth with experience against QPR.

John O’Shea, Nani, Ji–sung Park and Anderson should also be involved, while Tomasz Kuszczak will be in goal.