Video: Manchester United legend Paul Scholes explains former club’s downfall

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Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has insisted that a lack of leadership in midfield has been the club’s issue this season.

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Speaking on BT Sport on Tuesday night, the former England international put their struggles down to the absence of an individual in midfield that is able to orchestrate things in front of him.

Scholes alluded to the fact that if he was in the current United lineup, he would be explaining to the younger players where he would want them on the pitch and help coach them through games rather that let them make the same mistakes over and over again.

The 41-year-old continued by insisting that he would ask Wayne Rooney to come short and build play with him in a deeper position, but he would want the likes of Memphis Depay and Jesse Lingard to stay out on the wings where they can beat their markers and be more effective.

Furthermore, he added that he is frustrated watching Anthony Martial come short, as he insisted that the Frenchman’s biggest threat is his pace along with his movement, and so he should be on the shoulder of the last defender and making runs for the midfield to pick him out with balls over the top.

Scholes conceded that as a midfielder, if he was unable to find his teammates and build attacks, then ultimately the responsibility and blame for the lack of goals would be on him.

However, he doesn’t see another individual like that in the current squad as Michael Carrick was left on the bench against Wolfsburg on Tuesday night, while Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marouane Fellaini and Morgan Schneiderlin are seemingly not getting the job done.

Naturally, after such a dismal Champions League campaign ended with a failure to make the knockout stages of the competition, the criticism of coach Louis van Gaal will continue to grow. It remains to be seen if the Red Devils are able to continue to challenge in the Premier League as they sit just three points adrift of current leaders Leicester City.

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