Reds Salute Scholes Return

Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney and Chris Smalling have each hailed the return of Paul Scholes following his decision to come out of retirement and play for United until the end of this season.

The Reds legend called time on a glittering playing career last May, taking up a new role as a coach with Warren Joyce and the Reserves. But in a statement published by ManUtd.com on Sunday, the 37-year-old admitted the lure of pulling on the red shirt again was too much to resist.

Speaking after the 3-2 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup, Sir Alex added colour to the story behind Scholes' shock return and explained why the decision can only benefit United.

“For the last few weeks he has been training very hard with the Reserves and doing a lot of work in the gymnasium,” the boss said. “He said he regrets retiring so there were no negatives for me. The players were delighted, I was delighted and I know the fans are delighted.

“We have stepped up his training for the last few weeks and he started to take part in our sessions during the week. It is a terrific addition to our squad at a very important part of the season.”

Scholes was named on the bench for Sunday’s match at the Etihad Stadium and enjoyed a highly- anticipated second half cameo, replacing Nani on the hour to rapturous applause from United’s delighted and yet surprised travelling support.

The fans were not the only ones who were kept in the dark over his return, though, as Rooney explained after the match. “I was surprised. We didn’t find out until we got in the dressing room and saw him getting changed.

“It is obviously great as he’s a great footballer and is a very experienced player. He brought a bit of calmness to our play towards the end of the game which helped us see it out.

“We just thought he was coming along for the game but we saw him getting changed and somebody asked him what he was doing. And then we saw the number 22 Scholes shirt, which was a bit weird seeing him with that number. But it’s great as he is a well-liked lad around the dressing room.”

Smalling, who spent just one term playing and training alongside Scholes last season, also expressed his disbelief and explained how the move has benefitted squad morale.

“It was a massive boost for all of us. I was really disappointed when he called it a day last year.I spoke to Danny (Welbeck) before the game, we were really excited that he’s back and it gave the whole squad a boost.

“We had seen him take part in some sessions before but I didn’t quite expect him to be on the bench until I saw him getting changed to be honest. It was a welcome boost.”