Paul Scholes has highlighted one key change that Sir Alex Ferguson made at Old Trafford that Ruben Amorim is not willing to commit to at Manchester United.
The 50-year-old Manchester United legend spent his entire club playing career under former Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson across two separate spells.
During his time at Old Trafford, Paul Scholes lifted 11 Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, three FA Cups and two League Cups with United.
The footballer-turned-pundit was a key first-team player for Ferguson at the Red Devils after he rose through the United youth academy during the 1990s.
One of the famed Class of ’92 stars, Scholes is considered one of the best midfielders of all time and the United legend had a stunning impact at Old Trafford.
The former United and England midfielder initially retired from football in 2011 before he walked back on his decision and returned to United as a player in 2012.
Scholes was part of the last United team to win the Premier League title in the 2012-13 campaign before he subsequently called it time on his legendary career in 2013.
Scholes on Amorim and Man Utd
Ruben Amorim has faced a tough start to life at Old Trafford after the former Sporting CP boss replaced Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager.
Erik ten Hag was sacked by the Premier League club last October and Amorim arrived at the Red Devils from Sporting CP in November 2024.
Amorim has overseen a mixed set of results during the early part of his reign, including United struggling to build momentum in the Premier League.
The 40-year-old United manager has committed to playing his tactical system, despite criticism over its effectiveness and his lack of the right players for it.
Speaking on The Overlap, Paul Scholes insisted that Amorim must learn from other examples and be willing to “adapt and change,” even if it’s only for the short term.
“There’s an argument about that people talk about: remember the Southampton manager at the start of the season saying I can’t go and tell me players to play differently because they won’t look at me the same?” he said.
“But you get beat every week. Even Pep [Guardiola] said a great coach must stick with the philosophy and that’s it and that’s what they do. But great managers also have to be able to adapt and change.”
Scholes on Ferguson and Amorim
Scholes claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson showed his ability to adapt by changing his formation when it was needed, even if the football wasn’t spectacular to watch.
The former England international added United could end up “getting beat” and keep playing “badly” after Amorim “backed himself into a corner” over his tactics.
“I think of probably one of the greatest, if not the greatest ever, in Sir Alex,” Scholes continued.
“We always played 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 and we’ve struggled and struggled in Europe for a long time.
“So, we went to the 4-5-1 basically and we were boring to death going away from home.
“But he started getting results and we ended up going all the way in the Champions League throughout four years but didn’t win it twice because of Barcelona.
“So that to me is changing and having an effect on your team to get different results.
“I think as long as you carry on playing the system and he’s backed himself into a corner doing it, but you’re getting beat and you’re playing so badly every week sure there something has to change.”
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