Paul Scholes has suggested that Luke Shaw and Bruno Fernandes undermined Michael Carrick and his staff with their comments following Manchester United's 2-0 defeat to Hull City. United lost their opening Premier League match of the season to the newly-promoted side on Saturday, conceding two first-half set-piece goals.
Fernandes and Shaw criticise United's preparation
After the match, Bruno Fernandes said United were guilty of repeating the same mistakes as last season. "Same mistakes as we did last season, every away game we give too much of the ball to them. In the first 20 minutes, the goalkeeper was the one with the most touches," Fernandes said on Saturday. "We needed to press more, be more aggressive, and then again we need to work on set-plays and not concede these type of goals. Against these types of teams, they are waiting for that moment."
Fernandes added: "We knew before the game that set-pieces would be a big part of their game. They played all pre-season with a back four, but went to a back five against us for some height in these moments. The most frustrating thing is that we lost the game."
Luke Shaw also suggested his side were not prepared for the challenge Hull posed, despite a full pre-season campaign that included matches against Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United and AC Milan. "I think we have to do, as a whole team, much better," Shaw said. "I think even leading up the game, we need to prepare better on what their strengths are and of course that's set-plays."
Scholes: 'Keep his mouth shut'
Discussing Fernandes' comments on The Good, The Bad and The Football, Scholes suggested it would have been a better idea for Fernandes to "keep his mouth shut" given his own performance. On Shaw's comments, Scholes insisted they will be perceived as a dig at Carrick and his staff over the methods used to get the squad into shape over the summer.
"Luke Shaw always says something. And that's a slight on your staff. That's a slight on your manager. If one of your players is saying that, f*****g hell you'd have them in Monday morning," Scholes said. "What do you mean by that? Those comments, it's not so much about respect, you speak about fear of managers sometimes… those things they have said they have said, they are a slight on the manager and his staff. If we said something like about Sir Alex, that we weren't prepared… f*****g hell, he'd probably single you out in front of the whole team."
Wayne Rooney, the former United captain, described Fernandes' comments as "strange" over the weekend.
United face Ipswich next
United return to action on Sunday at home to another promoted side, Ipswich Town. The defeat leaves Carrick's side under pressure to respond, with the manager expected to address the squad's preparation and set-piece defending ahead of the match.
