Darron Gibson tells ANDY HUNTERhe has no regrets leaving Old Trafford

THE HAIRDRYER has been replaced by what David Moyes likes to call “the treatment” for Darron Gibson. “He will need to get whipped a couple of times,” is the Everton manager’s explanation for how to get the best from the former Manchester United midfielder. There is no escaping a harsh Glaswegian education for the 24-year-old from Derry and there are no complaints.

“I do come across as laid back sometimes, that is where the manager is coming from I think,” admits Gibson. “He has shouted at me a few times to run harder in training. That is just the way I am. Sometimes I do need a kick up the arse. I am laid back. I am not saying I don’t work hard but when he shouts ‘run faster’, I run faster.”

The odd rebuke from a fierce Scottish manager aside, it is the contrasts between Moyes, Alex Ferguson and their respective clubs, not the similarities, that have struck the Republic of Ireland international since conceding that his United career had run its course and electing to join Everton in January. They are not what one might expect between a club chasing their 20th league title and one that enter today’s FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool without a trophy for 17 years.

He explains: “I wouldn’t say the manager has been on my case but he has certainly had a few words about how he wants me to play. The football here is a lot different than it was at Manchester United. I was shocked at how hard we worked to be honest. It took me a few games to get used to it. Manchester United have the ball most of the time, don’t they? It is different here. We don’t have as much of the ball, we are running around a bit more. In recent weeks when we have been getting results we have been pressing teams and working really hard to do it, which is something we didn’t do much of at Manchester United. I am probably the fittest I have ever been in my career.”

A career and a reputation were in need of restoration towards the end of the midfielder’s nine years at Old Trafford, where the lack of opportunities, and the desperation to impress when they did materialise, ultimately confirmed what Giovanni Trapattoni had been telling him on international duty for several years: he had to get out. Reservations over what lies beyond United have been allayed 11 games into Gibson’s Everton career.

Does he miss United? “No, not really,” comes the response. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I left. I’d been there since I was 15. But I am really enjoying my football, really enjoying playing. It is a great club. I am in a better mood now, I know that. It is nice to know you are in with a more-than-likely chance of playing every week, rather than knowing you are likely not to play.

“Some people would say I failed at Manchester United by not breaking through. Towards the end, I wasn’t playing my best football. I have come here to start showing people what I can do. I need to keep going and show people how good a player I am. I wouldn’t say I failed but I would say I never got the chance that I wanted. I was playing a game and then missing four, five or six, then playing another. I would play when people were being rested. People might say I failed but I don’t think I did. I just never had the chance that was there. It got to the stage at United where I was fed up and I needed to go out and play football for my sake.”

Everton have not lost a game with Gibson in the team and their former title-winning manager Howard Kendall recently lauded his form as “responsible, classy and sensible”. Gibson jokes: “I know, it is all down to me! I came in at a good time. All the new signings have done well but there is a lot of quality here. The way we have been playing means that we don’t go into games worrying about it. We think that we can get a result.”

How quickly he has settled at Goodison was underlined on Easter Monday when he was left out of the team that beat Sunderland 4-0 in readiness for the Wembley semi-final. “I expected to play against Sunderland to be honest with you,” he admits. “It was nice to know I was being rested for the big game. It was the complete opposite of how it was at Manchester United.”

Gibson was also absent when Steven Gerrard inspired Liverpool to a convincing 3-0 derby win almost five weeks ago and, though he has not sampled Merseyside rivalry, his friendship with Wayne Rooney means he is under no illusion as to the magnitude of the game. “Wayne rang me straight after we beat Sunderland. I am not telling you what he said but he was buzzing, absolutely buzzing,” he reveals. “At heart he is still an Everton fan so he will be wanting us to win.”

It is put to Gibson that one reason for his impact at Everton is the similarity between his past and present managers. The perception, he insists, is misplaced. “They are completely different. Moyes is a lot more hands on, he wants to do everything himself whereas the years I was at Manchester United, Sir Alex used to let the coaches do most of the work. He did the team talks and the tactics but, on the training ground, it was the coaches who did the work. Their team talks are completely different too, although I can’t explain why. Probably the only similarity is that they are both Scottish and sound the same.”