“Who wants to come into this club? It feels like a right mess; it does feel poisonous”
Paul Scholes has called Manchester United a “poisonous” environment and criticised the club’s decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis.
The former United midfielder has never been afraid to voice his opinions on the Red Devils, and he has since suggested that the 13-time Premier League winners are a “mess” right now.
Speaking on the Webby and O’Neill YouTube channel, Scholes questioned why any player would want to come to Old Trafford at the moment. He said: “The club just feels like it’s in a mess, player, staff and manager-wise.
“Who wants to come into this club? It feels like a right mess; it does feel poisonous.”
‘Are these players good enough?’ asks Paul Scholes
It is thought that Rangnick – who is in charge until the end of the campaign – is facing an exodus with 17 players reportedly wanting to leave the club, with many believed to be unhappy and unable to adapt to his philosophy.
Discussing this, Scholes, who made almost 500 appearances for United, suggested that several players in the squad have not proven themselves to be good enough to win trophies.
“It has to come a point where you think, ‘are these players good enough?'” the ex-England international added.
“We know [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Paul] Pogba, [Raphael] Varane, [Nemanja] Matic have great experience and won trophies but the rest of the squad haven’t proven themselves to be good enough to win anything.
“Some of these players have had a lot of games now. Marcus Rashford, he’s had a lot of games – are we ever going to see these lads reach their potential?
“Are they ever going to be good enough to win trophies? [Harry] Maguire, is he good enough? [Victor] Lindelof, is he good enough?
“We keep saying how good they are but they are failing to produce what is required on the pitch.”
Paul Scholes on the current Manchester United squad 🔴#MUFC #PaulScholes
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Scholes cannot get head around Ralf Rangnick appointment
The 47-year-old also criticised Rangnick’s temporary appointment following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November, arguing that the Red Devils missed a trick by not appointing Antonio Conte.
The Spurs manager was heavily linked with the position during Solskjaer’s final weeks in charge, but Tottenham appointed the Italian shortly after the Norwegian was dismissed.
Paul Scholes said: “We have gone to a man well regarded across Europe especially by managers who speak highly of him like [Jurgen] Klopp and [Thomas] Tuchel. But he’s not had much success as a coach.
“He won promotion in Germany and a bit with Schalke but he has been asked to come and manage the biggest club in the world, it is something I just cannot get my head round.
“They should have the best available out there as their manager and they haven’t got that and I find that astonishing.
“We should have one of the top five managers in the world. Now Tuchel, [Pep] Guardiola and Klopp are the top three but they are unavailable, there is no chance of getting them. But then you look at Antonio Conte.”
Paul Scholes disagrees with Gary Neville over Antonio Conte
While former teammate Gary Neville has been vocal against United going for Conte, Scholes disagrees with the Sky Sports pundit on the matter.
“Some people say he was not suited to United but you have seen what he is doing at Tottenham with a squad that is nowhere near as good as United’s,” he stated.
“He will probably challenge for the top four and United missed a trick with him. They could probably still get him from Tottenham. Tottenham fans probably won’t like me for saying that.
“You can see he is already getting frustrated with his squad of players and is asking for other stuff. Conte could do something special here, he has got the pedigree to do it. Will we be able to get him? I don’t know.”
Current Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be the main candidate for the permanent position when Rangnick takes up a consultancy role in May, and Scholes believes appointing the Argentine would be a smart move.
He added: “Pochettino is a brilliant manager. I like what he did at Southampton and Tottenham. This season he has to prove he’s an elite manager.
“He still has something to prove for me but is more than capable of doing it.”
After progressing into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a scrappy 1-0 win against Aston Villa, United face Steven Gerrard’s side again at the weekend, this time travelling to Villa Park to face them in the Premier League.
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