Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has hailed the spirit within the squad.

Evra admits Robin van Persie has copped plenty of banter this week after his big hug for Sir Alex Ferguson at Stoke City.

"I always say the atmosphere at this club is great," said Evra.

"That is a big strength for Manchester United. To be fair, Robin told us he was really emotional. He had not scored for 10 games.

"He just showed the passion and the way he wanted to win. He just said 'hands up guys, it was an emotional game. I did it, it is OK, we can move on now'."