Paul Scholes, who put in a man-of-the-match display against Stoke City at the weekend, says that he’s putting in extra shooting practice in an attempt to rediscover the free-scoring days of his youth. The former-England midfielder netted against Besiktas in Champions League matchday one but scored just three goals last season.
“I suppose I’m in the manager’s office a lot more these days, with him telling me I’m not playing,” said Scholes.
“You still want to impress, but the coaches are always asking how you feel and whether you want to take a day off here or there.
“When I was younger I used to get forward a lot more than I do now. I think the manager expects me to stay in the middle of the park nowadays and pass to the players who can go forward and score goals.
“I’d still like to get forward every now and then and chip in, but you have to play however the manager wants you to play.
“I like to stay and do a bit of shooting practice at the end of training. My goals have dried up a bit in recent years, so I’d like to get back to scoring a few.
“I just want to win more trophies and medals. We’re going to be going for all four trophies again this season.”
The flame-haired midfielder has hit the net 143 times in 611 appearances for the club, after a goalscoring début against Port Vale in the League Cup in 1994. Scholes is likely to sit out tomorrow’s Group B Champions League match against German champions VfL Wolfsburg.
But Ferguson recently insisted that Scholes would be staying on at the club for at least another season, although there has been regular speculation that Bury-born player may retire next May.
Perhaps not quite time to get out the Bob Dylan records just yet.