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Tom Cleverley sat on the edge of his sofa in the front room of his house in south Manchester on Monday.

He was being told about questions put to Manchester United team-mate Michael Carrick during a Twitter forum organised by the club programme last week.

The first #askCarrick: “If you could drop one player from the team, how do you tell Cleverley?”

The second #askCarrick: “Do you watch Cleverley train to feel good about yourself?”

The third #askCarrick: “You can travel back in time. Do you kill Hitler or stop Cleverley being born?”

Cleverley laughed. Not a bitter laugh. Not the laugh of someone who’s been beaten down by the criticism. Just the laugh of someone who knows the territory and who is learning to cope with it.

It has not been an easy season for any of the United players as the club struggles to adapt to the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.

The criticism of them redoubled after a home draw with bottom club Fulham left them marooned nine points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool. Almost to a man, their commitment has been questioned and their ability traduced. But it has been worst of all for Cleverley.

Somewhere along the line, as it became evident that United were not the force of old, Cleverley was made the scapegoat. The young England player, the 24-year-old who has supported United since the age of 10, suddenly found himself being blamed when they fell from the summit.

(Image: Reuters)

“When I first started getting singled out, it stung, yeah,” Cleverley says, “but it’s something you have got to learn to take when the team is not doing well.

“My job goes under the radar at times. I am not a player who’s going to beat three or four people and stick it in the top corner or go round tackling people like Roy Keane.

“I would like the fans on my side and it hurts a little bit when you have grown up at the club and love the club every bit as much as the supporters.

“But there are other people in the current United squad who have been through this kind of thing and they have made sure their quality shone through.

“I have got to look at those people. I have learned to take it with a pinch of salt and I’m sure it will make me stronger for the rest of my career.

“I feel I’ve been made a scapegoat a little bit. A few people in the media certainly seem to have a perception of me not doing much in the team.

“Don’t get me wrong, I know I can do better but people are making a big thing about how I don’t score enough goals when that is not necessarily my first job in the team.”

(Image: Richard Heathcote)

There is a bitter irony attached to the scapegoating of Cleverley: English fans clamoured for a young player who keeps possession and moves the ball quickly and efficiently in transition and then, when they got one, they have tried to run him out of town.

It is no surprise that England boss Roy Hodgson remains a fan and the England boss knows that Cleverley’s technical ability will serve England well in the heat of Brazil where carelessness in possession will be punished.

United fans might want to see Cleverley in a box-to-box role, bursting forward, getting ahead of the ball. But that is not the role David Moyes has asked him to play. Moyes wants him in a disciplined position as one of two holding midfielders and Cleverley has worked hard to adapt his game to follow his manager’s instructions.

'What Is The Point of Tom Cleverley?' is another common refrain on social media. Well, put it this way, if Cleverley had been on the pitch, Steve Sidwell would not have been allowed to drift unmarked into the box and score Fulham’s first goal on Sunday evening.

“I watch Spanish football a lot,” Cleverley says. “If they pass the ball sideways but keep possession, the fans clap them.

“Their attitude is that as long as you have got the ball, the other team can’t hurt you.

“I know the mentality is different here and that is what makes our game the best in the world because it is so intense.

“But sometimes I have got to not listen and play my game because I feel I’m doing the best thing for the team.”

(Image: Action Images)

This may surprise his critics but the statistics tell you that the Red Devils’ win ratio this season is significantly better with Cleverley in the side.

It has become easy and fashionable to make the Cleverley the face of United’s decline because he is being asked to do an unglamorous job. The reality is that, as United attract criticism for the predictability of their play, Cleverley’s energy and speed of transition, is exactly what they need.

“My confidence has been a little bit low at times this season,” Cleverley admitted. “There is not much worse for a player than getting it off his own fans.

“I don’t mind hearing stick off 19 of 20 Premier League clubs. But when it comes from your own fans, it hurts a little bit more.

“The fans at Old Trafford have been magnificent. It’s just background noise you can’t help hearing when you’re a United player.

“You have got to learn not to take it on board. You have to remind yourself you got yourself in this position through talent and hard work.

“My skin is a lot thicker now. I go into every game with a clearer head. You have just got to ride out the hard times.

“The history of this club is all about fighting back and I am absolutely determined that my future is here and that I will fight back with it.”