Northern Ireland fans will always back you - EvansEuro 2024 qualifying: Northern Ireland v Slovenia
Venue: Windsor Park, Belfast Date: Tuesday, 17 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Ulster with live text commentary on BBC Sport website & app; Match of the Day highlights on BBC One NI and BBC iPlayer at 22:40 BST
Manchester United defender Jonny Evans has revealed there were times last season when he feared he would have to retire from football.
Evans, 35, who will captain Northern Ireland against Slovenia on Tuesday, returned to Old Trafford in the summer.
That followed an injury-hit campaign with Leicester City that ended with relegation from the Premier League.
“No, definitely [not],” Evans said when asked if he could have envisaged such a positive turnaround in his career.
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“I think I went through a stage last year where you start thinking ‘maybe this is it coming to an end’.
“So there is no doubt that I did have those thoughts at times. I couldn’t get over the injuries and, every time I came back, I was breaking down.
“I had a lot of people say ‘there’s no way you’re close to finishing’, but you have to prove that to yourself and I feel I’ve been able to do that.
“I’ve trained a lot, getting all that behind me, completing matches. Every time you complete a match, you think there’s another one down.
“Sometimes you’re having to confirm that to yourself and I’ve been pleased I’ve been able to go through that process. I feel I’m in a good place.”
Evans came through United’s academy and won three Premier League titles and a Champions League during his first spell there before moving to West Bromwich Albion in 2015, and then to Leicester three years later, winning the FA Cup with the Foxes in 2021.
Before Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier 3-0 victory over San Marino at Windsor Park, the Greenisland Academy graduate was presented with a plaque by Northern Ireland legend Pat Jennings to mark winning his 100th international cap last summer.
Ballard an injury doubt with McNair suspended
Daniel Ballard took the captain’s armband when Jonny Evans was substituted on Saturday
Evans was reflecting on last season’s potential retirement while preparing to captain his country once again when Slovenia come to Belfast on Tuesday for another Euro qualifier.
It is a game for which Sunderland’s Daniel Ballard, Evans’ central defensive partner on Saturday, is a doubt because of a thigh injury that emerged since the match in which Northern Ireland ended a five-game losing streak in Group H.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill is also without the experienced Paddy McNair, who is suspended after picking up a late booking against San Marino, but does not plan to call an additional player into the squad.
“He [Ballard] woke up with a tightness in his thigh which we have just had to manage over the last 48 hours,” O’Neill explained.
“It’s not like he was playing through something because obviously we could have taken him off, but he didn’t alert us to anything. It is just something that has come on post-game.”
He added: “I think we have enough cover in our group. We have Eoin Toal, Trai Hume has played centre-half at his club and Shea Charles has played at centre-back as well.
“I think we have enough in the squad without calling anyone up. I think what we might look to do is add someone from the Under-21 squad if Daniel doesn’t make it.”
NI squad ‘a real safe place’ for young players
Watch: O’Neill pleased with NI display in San Marino win
Northern Ireland knew they had no chance of reaching the Euro 2024 finals before this home qualifier double-header, with the win over San Marino moving them to six points from seven matches.
They go into Tuesday evening’s meeting with Group H leaders Slovenia, who won the reverse fixture 4-2 in September, 10 points adrift of them but determined to finish the campaign strongly.
Evans and O’Neill both highlighted the threat posed by young Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko, but Evans stressed that Northern Ireland are very capable of grabbing a third win of this campaign.
“I think they’ve got two good forward players, they were good in the last game and they’ve got a good reputation.
“We have to be on it, we have to be better as a team in how we prepare defensively and also on the ball, stopping their counter-attacking. They play quite direct football and try to hit you on the break.
“They have probably been a surprise package but I still think they are beatable. I don’t think we’re too far away.
“Results haven’t gone our way but as as a nation we’re probably similar in how we view ourselves. Fair play to them for taking advantage of the group and having a good campaign.”
As the most experienced member of the squad, Evans also had a few words of encouragement for what is a youthful and inexperienced panel of players that have endured a tough campaign so far.
“For a lot of them it’s their first campaign, but I didn’t have a good campaign until I was 27, apart from the first one I came into [aged 18] when we got off to a good start.
“I know there are ups and downs in international football, but the most important thing is to keep turning up.
“This is a great place for them all to come. Your club career will maybe go up and down as well, this is a real safe place for them.
“Hopefully Michael is here for a long time, like he was for me at the start of my career. He gives you that real base, you come back and feel part of something.
“The fans will always be there and support them too, so it’s a great place to come and play.”
