Scholes slams Man Utd pair Mainoo, Garnacho over poor ‘standards on the training pitch’

Paul Scholes has had a pop at Manchester United stars Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho for showing poor standards in a training session.

Despite United’s poor form of late, which has seen them win just one of their last six Premier League games, both Mainoo and Garnacho have been bright spots through that period.

‘Standards begin on the training pitch’

Mainoo in particular has caught the eye through his performances, reaching a zenith against Liverpool as he fired his side into the lead at Old Trafford, but Garnacho has also impressed, starting each of their last 21 Premier League games.

But Paul curmudgeon Scholes isn’t impressed by the duo’s training garb, insisting ‘standards begin on the training pitch’ in a post on social media.

Scholes wrote on Instagram: ‘Don’t mind hats and gloves but no way can you train proper with your hood up.

‘Standards begin on the training pitch.’

“It defies logic…”

Despite Mainoo’s fine strike against Liverpool, Gary Neville was perplexed by his positional play in midfield alongside Casemiro, angered that he failed failed to do “the basics of the game”.

“Look where Mainoo is there, he’s ahead of the ball on a throw-in. For a central midfield player I always think – and Bruno Fernandes, he had to run back,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

“Forget about that [man-marking system], forget about Mac Allister, don’t be ahead of the ball. You can always get up to that one. He’s moving up there now, it defies logic and it’s the basics of the game.

“Even now he’s chasing across the pitch, he doesn’t need to. Garnacho and Hojlund can deal with that. Look at the space behind him – that space alongside Casemiro there. Mac Allister’s run into that space now. Just the basics.

“Look at where Casemiro and Mainoo have gone now, it opens up a path there. Honestly, it’s basics. Absolute basics. It’s so easy to play against Manchester United’s midfield.

“It’s the most bizarre and peculiar, and if you’re watching football or if you’ve played midfield – or any position on the pitch – you just know these are the sort of things you learn as a 12-year-old. Bruno’s gone there and he’s no chance of getting anywhere near that pass.”

“Manchester United’s style of play is mad,” he later added on The Gary Neville Podcast. “Some of the things you see out there, you wouldn’t see at schoolboy level.”

He continued: “I don’t think it is any lack of endeavour. There is no lack of desire in the team. There’s just no sense to their actual performance levels.”

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