Scholes gets green light for Oldham job

PAUL Scholes has received clearance from the Football League to become the new manager of Oldham Athletic.

The former United midfielder, 44, has been tipped to take the first steps his managerial career at Boundary Park since Frankie Bunn was sacked on December 27.

Negotiations were complicated, however, by Scholes’ 10-per-cent stake in National League side Salford City.

Addressing dual interests and ownership in the Football League, rule 103.1.3 of the EFL handbook states: “Except with the prior written consent of the (Football League) Board, no club may, either directly or indirectly, be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management of administration of another football club.”

An EFL meeting on Thursday saw Scholes (below) – whose stake in Salford is matched by fellow Class of ‘92 members Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham – attain clearance to step up his pursuit of the position at Oldham, who sit 15th in League Two.

An announcement is expected on Monday.

Meanwhile, interim manager Pete Wild has challenged the Latics to get back to winning ways when they visit Crawley today – and is still not ruling out the possibility of a play-off push.

He said: “Firstly, we must get back to winning ways and climbing the table again.

“I think we can ignore the play-offs at the moment, but that’s not me saying we’re going to disregard it completely.”