Ex- Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley has claimed that his season under David Moyes left him feeling “scarred” and “like a failure” for playing for the Red Devils.
The Scot enjoyed a horrendous nine months at Old Trafford after replacing Sir Alex Ferguson. He had originally been handed a six-year contract at United but was jettisoned in April 2014 with the Red Devils sitting seventh.
Cleverley played a role in Moyes’ solitary season at the club with 31 appearances in all competitions after previously forging a role in the first-team over the previous two seasons. The now 33-year-old has suggested that his season under the West Ham boss impacted him throughout the remainder of his career.
Speaking on the UTD Podcast, he said: "I’m not shy to admit that the season with David Moyes scarred me a lot. I’m not saying anything bad about David Moyes. I thought he was a great football manager. But that season, 2013/14, mentally scarred me.
"I lost confidence and I think when it sort of scars you for a few years, you start to doubt yourself and things like that. I think on a football pitch, as I say, you need to be instinctive in everything you do. So if you’re second-thinking every decision you make, you become half the player you should be and I was doing that for a season.
"It was always my dream to play for Man United and, at the time, as a young lad from Bradford, I felt like a failure doing it and it’s a bit of a crazy way to think, playing for United and England. But, at the time I was playing poorly, and it was really the start of social media being toxic and I found it hard to deal with, to be honest.”
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Following a loan spell with Aston Villa, Cleverley was eventually sold to Everton and now represents Watford. Having been at Old Trafford for around 15 years, he revealed that he was “jealous” of Red Devils icons Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick due to their abilities.
"It’s a bit of a weird dynamic isn’t it, football clubs," he added. "Your team-mate is your first opponent for your position.
"So there are not many industries where that happens. But I just remember the training with Scholsey and being jealous of how good he was! I’m competing with this guy who doesn’t misplace or mishit one ball. Yeah, it does wind you up some days. You think, “How am I going to get in this team?”
"I think when you talk about careers like Carras [Carrick], because his lasted 10 years, my best year was a good year but it only lasted one year. To keep that success, drive, desire, over 10, 15 years, people like this, you can’t speak highly enough of them.
“To deal with dips in form and disappointments and just to keep coming back and they’re not only the best ability-wise, they’re the best mentality-wise."
