EVANS CRAVES THAT ONE ELUSIVE TROPHY
JONNY EVANS wants to satisfy his appetite for a domestic trophy treble by helping Leicester to FA Cup glory.
The Foxes defender won three Premier League titles and two League Cups (including in 2010, above) during his days with Manchester United – plus a Champions League and the Club World Cup.
But on the home front, the FA Cup eludes him — just as it does Leicester.
Evans said: “I’ve never reached an FA Cup Final and it’s something that has eaten away at me over the years.
“The closest we got was probably with United in a semi-final which we lost on penalties to Everton. I’ve played a few games at Wembley — Community Shield matches, a couple of League Cup finals — but it would definitely be nice to be playing in the FA Cup Final.
“To win the FA Cup is something special. You’re always envious when you watch players over the years winning trophies. I’ve been fortunate to win League Cup finals but the FA Cup would definitely top that.”
While Leicester’s trophy cabinet houses one Premier League trophy and three League Cups, it is without an FA Cup despite four Final appearances.
Evans added: “I probably took it for granted when I was younger, but having not won a trophy in quite a few years, you appreciate how hard they are to achieve and how much you cherish them as the years go on. Hopefully we can put that right.”
Evans’ big-game experience is something his younger team-mates will look to this evening and he will draw on some of the pre-match words of his old United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Evans recalled said: “Sir Alex always talked about concentration, he spoke about it before most games.
“It was probably one of the biggest messages he gave to us — he wanted everyone so entrenched in the game. He’d talk about the ex-captains he’d had who had really impressed him.
“He spoke about Bryan Robson a lot, how he would go into this competitive zone, and he wanted all of us to be like that, to have the ultimate concentration for 90 minutes.
“I was very grateful to be part of a team that was winning things.
“I’m very proud of all those trophies I got but, on the other hand, you had players in your team like Ryan Giggs who probably had 12, 13 Premier League titles.”