The girlfriend of Manchester United and Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans says she has no plans to heed the advice of Sir Alex Ferguson just yet and wed her footballer boyfriend.

Kate Wathall — a journalism student on placement at Granada TV — was sitting in a packed Press conference yesterday when Sir Alex joked that she should tie the young player down because “rings are cheap now”.

Sir Alex had been talking about the benefits that marriage had brought to Wayne Rooney’s game when a reporter asked Evans, who was sitting at his side, if he was planning to get married.

Evans coyly replied: “I really don’t want to talk about it, especially as my girlfriend is sitting in the middle of you all. She is on a work placement with ITV this week.”

As all eyes turned to the 21-year-old Northumbria University student sitting among the assembled journalists, Sir Alex quipped: “Get him tied down dear. Rings are cheap now.”

However, the Sheffield-born student, who has been dating Jonny for two-and-a-half years, laughed off Sir Alex’s comments and said she was in no rush to get wed.

But she did not rule out any marriage plans in the future.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, the pretty blonde said: “I’m on placement with Granada at the moment and was told that I was going to have to go along to this Press conference at Old Trafford, but I thought it was going to be Ji-Sung Park and not Jonny.

“But on the way there Jonny told me he was going to be doing it instead.

“When we got there I deliberately didn’t sit in the front row because I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself.

“So when Sir Alex made his comments and pointed at me, it was a bit embarrassing, especially when every head in the room turned and looked at me and the cameras all pointed at me.

“I have been taking a bit of stick from people today, but I’m not bothered at all. Jonny thinks it’s funny too.”

Kate said she had not told her colleagues that she was the girlfriend of the 21-year-old Northern Ireland international, adding: “Well, they all know now, I guess ... and we’re in no rush to get married just now.”