JONNY EVANS has spoken out about the redundancies hitting Manchester United which will see 250 people lose their jobs.
Veteran defender Evans, 36, says the news has hit everyone hard at the club as new part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues with his sweeping changes.
That has so far included trimming down staff, with many told just a week before the US tour that they would not be going and were at risk.
Evans, who came on as sub in United’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in LA last night, said: “I think they’ve got an idea of how they want the structure, but as someone who’s been at the club a long time, you know, a lot of people have lost their jobs this last couple of weeks, it’s been hard and difficult to see.
“The new owners feel that’s the direction that they want to go. But, you know, it’s not been easy for everyone at the same time.
“I mean, there’s people you’ve known for 20 years and I think the timing of it happened when we came away on tour pretty much.
“So we were all a bit in the dark and I’m sure everything will be sorted out, things will be a bit more clear when we get back. But it’s been a difficult thing to see, people, I’ve known for a long, long time.
“One thing about working in a club like Man United, you’re all in and everyone’s always been all in, it’s a big massive staff.”
Evans met his wife Helen at the club, where she continues to work for MUTV. His brother Corry was in the youth ranks.
His father, Jackie, was once a coach in the club’s academy, which has not escaped the cuts either.
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He said: “You have family members working there. People are married and my wife has been working at the club, my brother has been at the club, my dad’s been at the club.
“So it’s always had that feeling of people, they give everything, they have for the club and it’s such a huge credit to them. That’s just because they love the place so much.”
The most surprising fact is that the famed academy that has produced so many players has also been hit.
Evans came through it before making 198 appearances between 2008 and 2015 in his first spell at the club.
He is now in his second after leaving Leicester and made 22 appearances last season.
Evans said: “I think the fact that the club is built on the academy also has a big part in that because players have been there for such a long time, from a young age and they’ve come in and the academy players have always sort of set the culture and the staff that have been there the whole way through.
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“So I think that’s just been the nature of the culture, how it’s always been built and it’s a huge plus for the club. We want to maintain that as much as possible.”
Evans says that the issue of the redundancies has been a topic of conversation amongst everyone on the club’s US tour as they wonder about the futures of those back in Manchester.
He said: “Yeah, of course, they’re friends, people that they’ve worked with, colleagues for a long time and I’m sure they’ll be feeling in that and there’s no doubt about that.”
