Paul Scholes took a swipe at the mentality of his former side after they missed out on the Europa League, following defeat to Villarreal.
Paul Scholes says failure has become “acceptable” at Manchester United and defeats do not “hurt” enough players at Old Trafford.
Another route to major silverware for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side was shut off in the 2021 Europa League final, with Villarreal holding their nerve in the penalty shootout as David de Gea missed the decisive spot-kick.
United’s wait for tangible success now extends into a fifth year, with semi-final setbacks and runner-up finishes becoming the norm.
Scholes, who claimed 25 trophies during his playing days at Old Trafford, told BT Sport after another near miss for United’s class of 2020-21: “It’s almost become an accepted thing. From Ole’s point of view, where’s the demands on him?
“I don’t think they’ll be saying you have to win a trophy or you’re gone. He’s made progress, which is progress from the last three or four years, but if you go back further, then clearly not because this club expects to win trophies.
“For now, I don’t think those demands are quite there on him where he has to win. I think there’s a lot of players it doesn’t really hurt.”
Scholes added: “You look at Bruno Fernandes, [Edinson] Cavani, people who have great experience, they won’t like it, of course they won’t. They’re the ones that look to me as if they’re proper hurting. The others, sometimes it can look a little bit acceptable.
“Even from the manager sometimes it looks a little bit acceptable. United have almost become a nice club that people like.”
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