Patrice Evra's Manchester United future remains undecided

Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra is yet to decide whether his future lies at Old Trafford or elsewhere. Quoted in the Manchester Evening News, the French defender said:

I will decide in two weeks about what I am going to do. I am not lying to anyone.

There have been a lot of rumours - am I going or staying. At the moment I have not decided anything. My agent will have a meeting with Manchester United and we will see.

I just want to wait until the end of the season to decide what to do. Everyone knows how much I love this club. It's difficult. The reason is an important reason. And you will see. I will tell if I am staying or leaving this club at the end of the season.

He also added some nice quotes on the horrors witnessed by United fans over the last season, characteristically not shirking any of the blame:

This year we have been really poor. We deserve all the criticism. We didn't play well enough. We lose some stupid games and that is why we are in this position. I really think it's an accident. A lot of people know Sir Alex Ferguson was the heart of Manchester United. He is a legend. You cannot replace him so quickly. We knew it would be difficult but not this difficult.

We can do much better than what we have done -maybe not win the league but at least qualify for the Champions League with the players we have got. It's not about the manager. It's a disaster this year. And it's a season to forget.

... and resisting the urge to have a dig at the departed David Moyes:

You always feel responsible even when David Moyes was in charge. When I spoke with him I put the players before everything because we are on the ones on the pitch. You never get anything easy. I never point at anyone else. If I have to say something to David Moyes I will say it to him and not in the paper. I am not that kind of man. I never hide behind something because I have so much respect for the club. This year everyone failed.

It'd certainly be a shame to see Evra go, even though he's gradually been on the decline for a while now. He's a player who truly seems to care for United, and, having won five Premier Leagues, a Champions League and three League Cups in nigh-on 400 appearances in red, as well as acquired a villainous reputation on Merseyside, he's worthy of his cult hero status.

With recent rumours linking United to various left-backs -- most notably Southampton's Luke Shaw -- it seems like that'll be a position we'll be looking to strengthen in the summer. At 32, Evra would be a fine backup for a couple of seasons yet, though it's understandable if he wants to spend his last few years playing rather than playing second fiddle.

To end on a final Evra quote:

I know Manchester United will never die. And I also know Manchester United will come back next year.

... and I, for one, hope Evra does too.