IT’S HAPPY EVRA AFTER
Moyes defends new ace who booted fan
DAVID MOYES has defended Patrice Evra for his shocking kung-fu kick on a fan – and wants him to lead by example at West Ham.
Moyes claims he can understand why Evra lashed out in an incident last November which led to the defender being sacked by Marseille and banned for seven months by UEFA.
While he does not condone the 36-year-old’s behaviour, Moyes insists if people knew what was said to him they would understand his reaction.
The Hammers boss, who could hand Evra his debut against Watford today after signing him as a free agent, said: “When he told me what happened, there were things where you could say, ‘I understand the reaction’.
‘‘I have also got to say what he did was wrong. We can’t condone it.
“But he’s a really good lad. Pat wouldn’t have done it if he wasn’t severely provoked.
Incident
“Would I have sacked him? I don’t know. It wouldn’t be my decision. We Have got to be very careful about our responsibilities.
“Players and managers throughout the country get abuse week in, week out. It’s something we have to get used to. On this occasion, Pat made the wrong decision.”
Moyes insists it was his idea to add Evra to an injury-hit squad lacking depth and that the Marseille incident did not put him off the transfer.
He said: “I know Pat. I went to the club with it because when Arthur Masuaku was banned for spitting it limited us.
“He just gives me a chance because we don’t have Arthur for another four games. If we lost Aaron Cresswell, we’d be short on the left.”
Moyes also believes the former Manchester United and Juventus star can have a positive influence on his new teammates.
He said: “The impact Pat had at United was massive. They all respected him. I hope he can have that influence here.’’
Moyes will make a late decision on whether to recall top scorer Marko Arnautovic after a hamstring injury.