Scholes: I missed playing

Manchester United veteran Paul Scholes has admitted he missed the game more than he ever imagined following his retirement last summer.

The 37-year-old stunned most observers by returning to the game this month, over half a year after announcing his decision to quit.

Alex Ferguson jumped at the opportunity to get Scholes back into his squad, introducing the midfielder as a substitute during the FA Cup third-round win at Manchester City earlier this month.

It is not a career path he expected last summer, when he opted to do some coaching alongside reserve team boss Warren Joyce.

However, his presence at United’s Carrington headquarters proved to be a constant reminder of what Scholes was missing.

Scholes told MUTV: “At the end of last season, I thought it was the right time to finish.

“But after coming in here for the last three or four months, still seeing people and doing a bit of training with the reserves, I was missing it more than I thought.”

Scholes, half-jokingly, denied his retirement, five months after that of long-time teammate Gary Neville, was purely a ruse to get out of a lengthy pre-season tour to the United States.

“Part of it was,” he said. “I didn’t fancy going to America for three weeks, I know that.

“No, in all seriousness, I never thought I would miss it as much as I did.

“Ask any player who has finished, they will all miss it for a period of time. I decided to give it another go.”

Scholes’ goal against Bolton in his second game back was the icing on the cake. After all, he had only scored once during the season before.

“I hadn’t played for six months, so it was strange being on the pitch again,” he said.

“The first two or three days took a bit of getting used to. But I am back into it now and enjoying every day.”