‘Every time a manager got sacked, it was always, “Scholesy, are you going to do the Oldham job?” I thought, “F**king hell, go on then, I’ll give it a crack”’ Paul Scholes recalls his spell in charge of his boyhood club

For plenty of players, the end of their playing days means the start of a coaching career.

Others, however, do not feel the urge to rush into football management and are content to take their time before making their next career move.

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes seemed to fall into this latter camp when he hung up his boots in 2013, only for sentiment to make him rethink his plans.

Scholes on his Oldham Athletic managerial stint

The 66-time England international grew up an Oldham Athletic supporter and it was this pull to his boyhood club that convinced him to take his first step into management in 2019, when he spent a month in charge of the Latics.

It was a short and ultimately unsuccessful stint, as he would win just one of his seven games in charge, so was it a case of the right club at the wrong time?

“I’m not sure it was ever the right club,” Scholes admits to FourFourTwo. “I never really went looking for it, I just got persuaded into it because every time a manager got sacked, it was always, “Scholesy, are you going to do the Oldham job?”

“I thought, “F**king hell, go on then, I’ll give it a crack.” It was stupid really, but that’s the way I looked at it. It didn’t work out.”

Scholes was given clearance to take the Oldham job in light of his part-ownership of Salford City at the time. David Beckham and Gary Neville led a new ownership group that completed a takeover last year, but Scholes is still involved with the League Two side.

"I’m doing quite a bit with the recruitment side, but Ryan and Nicky aren’t there anymore,” he continues. “They’re still in and around the place, but not officially working.

“I really enjoy it and we’ve been doing a bit better this season, which really helps.

“The club’s hopefully moving forward. It keeps you involved in football – that’s the reason Gaz [Neville] wanted us all to do it, so we all stayed involved with each other. Nicky was the CEO for I don’t know how long, 18 months?”

The Good, The Bad & The Football with Scholes, Butt and McGuinness is a new weekly video podcast, available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube