Comfort zone? Oldham is as far away from that as Scholes could get

IT makes my blood boil when I hear people accusing Paul Scholes of staying in the “comfort zone” by taking over as Oldham Athletic manager.

Certain comments about Scholes jumping behind the wheel at Boundary Park have left me absolutely baffled. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but let’s get one thing straight. Yes, he is now manager of the club he has always supported, but Scholes has never been further out of the comfort zone in his life.

If he wanted to stay out of the firing line, he’d be travelling the world as an ambassador for Manchester United, being an assistant or academy coach somewhere, or playing golf. Or he would still be a TV pundit – where his opinions on BT Sport were refreshingly honest – which is much harder work than most people would think, by the way.

But Scholes has never taken the easy route. As a teenager, he suffered from asthma and had to fight tooth-and-nail to make it into the first-team squad at United – he wasn’t originally in the starting XI in the famous Class of 92. He Cups and European Championships became one of the most for England, yet here they decorated players in English are at the sharp end of football. football history, and at one of the I take my hat off to them. biggest football clubs in the On the one hand, you had world. Winning trophies year in, people saying the likes of Ryan year out, he was used to the best Giggs shouldn’t land on his feet of everything. automatically in one of the top

United had the best training jobs – and on the other, now we facilities, stayed in the best have Scholes in his so-called hotels, travelled in luxury and “comfort zone”. ate the best food – wherever You can’t have it both ways. they went. Scholes (left) has shown real

Comfort zone? In League bottle to take on the job at his Two, there are tales of no hot home-town club. If it goes water in the showers, coffee wrong, he won’t turn round and machines being repossessed blame the groundsman, the because clubs can’t pay the recruitment, the fans or the rental, players paying £80 a board. He will blame himself. month for their lunches, and He’s a family man who has pitches at the training ground always stayed close to his roots, resembling cowfields because and if his critics did their the grass is too long. research properly, they would

Comfort zone? Scholes will know why he chose that path. not be staying in many five-star People say Jose Mourinho will hotels with Oldham. Budget be watching him closely, because chains will be the norm – and Scholes was always brutally that’s when they aren’t travelling honest in his criticism of to away games on the day. Mourinho at United.

Comfort zone? Instead of But Mourinho has never sending an army of scouts all managed in the lower divisions. over the country, you have to All his work has been with clubs run the rule over opponents or at Champions League level, new signings yourself. some with the resources to pay

Comfort zone? If Steven him off with £15million if it Gerrard fails at Rangers, or doesn’t work out.

Frank Lampard at Derby, they Comfort zone? Paul Scholes is will get another job. But if a Saddleworth lad who won it all Scholes fails at Oldham, where in club football – and he’s brave does he go? He’s put his neck on enough to take on the muck and the block, just as Sol Campbell nettles. did at Macclesfield, and they Those who sneer at him now deserve only our admiration. were never fit to lace his boots

They used to play in World in the first place.