“He is a little bit of a daydreamer”
Paul Scholes has claimed that Paul Pogba is a “little bit of a daydreamer” and suggests Fred and Scott McTominay are “limited footballers.”
The Red Devils opted for a midfield pairing of Fred and McTominay for their Champions League clash against Atalanta on Wednesday night, with French midfielder Pogba finding himself on the bench.
United’s No 6 had started in nine of his ten appearances this season prior to the midweek clash, but Ole Gunnar Solskjær decided to go with two holding midfielders in order to fit both the returning Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood into the starting XI.
The Red Devils have often been criticised for starting with two defensive midfielders, with Pogba very rarely trusted to start in the centre of the midfield in so-called ‘big games’.
Former Manchester United midfielder Scholes believes that the reason for this comes down to ‘coaching’, adding that “limited footballers” Fred and McTominay stop United from being expressive.
Speaking on BT Sport ahead of Man Utd’s match against Atalanta, Rio Ferdinand claimed that Solskjær’s side are lacking unity and togetherness from a tactical point of view.
In response to this, Scholes said: “I think it’s a coaching thing what you mentioned there.
“How many times last year did we say that United needed to play one holding midfield player and then play someone next to him, just to be a bit more expressive, not as boring as they [Man Utd] was.
“We know that Fred and [Scott] McTominay are limited footballers, now I think on the coaching side of it, Paul Pogba comes into that.
“Discipline in that area, positions that he should be in, the work rate he should be showing.”
The 46-year-old also suggested that Pogba needs to be ‘coached’ to play in the centre of midfield because he is a “little bit of a daydreamer”
“I think he’s [Pogba] got the perfect coach in Michael Carrick, we played with Michal Carrick… sensational in that position, knew exactly where he was,” said Scholes.
“He needs to be coached to play in that position and I knew him from being a young boy, he’s one player that needs to be on to all the time, you need to be in his ear all the time because he is a little bit of a daydreamer.
“Now United need players on the pitch to do that, I think if you were playing, you’d have done that, I think Roy Keane would’ve done that, we would’ve all done that, been in Pogba’s ear.
“I think, if the coaching is right, then playing the one holding midfielder should be enough to work.”
Scholes’ comments come just days after ex-United defender Gary Neville labelled the Red Devils as “shoddy, scrappy and scruffy”, with former Manchester City man Micah Richards also suggesting that the two-time Champions League winners “lack identity” under Solskjaer.
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