PAUL SCHOLES has denied quitting England because Sven-Goran Eriksson forced him to play on the left wing.
Scholes is one of the best central midfielders England have ever produced but he was shoehorned into a wide role at Euro 2004 to accommodate Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
It’s long been assumed that’s exactly why the Manchester United legend retired from international football straight after the tournament.
But Scholes insists Sven isn’t to blame for him failing to deliver in a role he was actually more familiar with than people think.
He told Stick to Football: “On the left-hand side, I did it a lot for United and I loved it.
“It felt different, just because we were in control of games at United, really. With England, we weren’t. In that left-hand channel, you do have to run back.
“When you play on the left-hand side, in that little hole, you score loads of goals from there. I just didn’t play very well for England when I played in that position. When I did it for United I felt comfortable.”
Lampard and Gerrard both surpassed a century of England caps, while Scholes finished his career with a measly 66.
Fitting the three of them into a team with a two-man midfield pairing was one of the great dilemmas of Sven’s reign.
And Scholes reckons the only time they might have gelled as a trio was after he ditched the Three Lions.
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He explained: “When I retired [from England] at 29, that was probably about the stage when I started to play a bit deeper. That might have suited them two, possibly. They had great energy, brilliant up and down.”
Scholes played on for nine more years at United and won five Premier League titles, two League Cups, a Club World Cup and a Champions League.
He moved into coaching and punditry in retirement but is now focused solely on caring for his autistic son.
Scholes said: “Everything I’m doing now just works around him. Everything is built around his day.”
Paul Scholes was speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet
