“England have not done well at big tournaments and everyone is intrigued by it, but the priority for a lot of top players now is not international football,” said Keane. “Years ago, when players were starting out, the pinnacle was playing for your country, but it’s not like that any more – the pinnacle is winning League titles and playing in the Champions League at club level. There are a lot of rivalries within the squad, particularly with the clubs they are at, and some players don’t like what they see when the squad gets together. They don’t want to be part of it. Paul Scholes retired a few years ago because he was fed up with the kind of circus that was behind England with certain players trying to call the shots. There might be other genuine reasons why they don’t like it – a lot of players might have family problems and they don’t want the sacrifice of going away on long trips. And they might say, ‘I don’t need this hassle in my life’, particularly if they are at top clubs. But in international football, especially if they think there are certain favours going on or certain people are trying to call the shots, they just don’t want to be part of it. They think they have more to lose than to gain with England. I know Scholes used to be pissed off because there was a lot going on, much of it nothing to do with football.”

Scholes’ reason for retiring was being unhappy at playing less football but after being on the coaching staff and playing no football, he quickly realised playing a bit is better than not playing at all.

See you next season, Scholesy.

“I don’t think Danny would let anybody down,” said Robson. “He’s a real hard worker. He’s worked very hard over the last couple of years to develop his talent. He’s just started to score goals now and that will give him great confidence. The way Danny is playing for Manchester Untied at the moment, he wouldn’t let England down if Roy Hodgson does put him in the squad and ask Danny to fill in for Wayne at this moment in time.”

After coming out of retirement to play for United again, there have been more calls for Paul Scholes to come out of international retirement to play for England in Euro 2012, but Robson reckons this is unlikely.

“He’s probably the most talented in terms of vision and passing the ball,” said Robson. “Scholes has got great vision. He is the only one that can really answer that question though. I don’t know what Paul Scholes has got in his mind. He retired years ago. I don’t think it’s something which Scholes would probably take onboard after so many years out but there is only Paul who can answer that question.”

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Rio Ferdinand has sung the praises of Scholes’ impact since coming out of retirement.

“There are a number of reasons why we’ve done well since the turn of the year,” he told United Review. “There’s no doubt one of them is Paul Scholes. Would we have been in the same position [without him]? It’s impossible to say. It’s great to have him back, though. It’s not just the quality of his football that impresses me but the way he’s adapted physically. He was out of the game for months and yet he’s come straight back into top-level football and he’s hardly looked out of place. At this stage of his career, that’s phenomenal.”

“The younger players have taken over this season, with their music and general loudness,” he said. “But if someone like Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes starts talking we all sit down and listen. I asked the boys about Scholesy as soon as I joined and they said he was unbelievable in training. He still pings the ball around like you wouldn’t believe.”

United went five points clear with help from Young’s goal at Blackburn on Monday and our winger claims the pressure has always been on City this season.

“The pressure has always been on City — there aren’t any nerves coming from our side,” he said. “We don’t play with fear and we haven’t got any nervousness going into games. We’ve got the momentum going into the final stretch of the season.”

In just the few months he’s been playing, Scholes has already scored more than he did all of last season and has been an important player in every game he has featured.

Sir Alex Ferguson has today responded to Vieira’s criticism by claiming City are the desperate ones, given they have now welcomed Carlos Tevez back with open arms after falling 2nd in the table, despite him refusing to play for them for six months and Roberto Mancini claiming he would never play for City again.

“If it’s desperation bringing the best midfielder in Britain back for the last 20 years then I think we can accept that,” said Ferguson. “I think he was programmed for that. Roberto had a wee dig a couple of weeks back. We’re all going to play our hand that way. There will be plenty of ammunition for that. If you talk about desperation, they played a player the other night (Tevez) who refused to go on the pitch, the manager said he’d never play again and he takes a five-month holiday in Argentina. What is that? Could that come under the description of desperation?”

After Tevez refused to come off the bench to play for City in the Champions League game against Bayern Munich, Mancini said: “For me, if a player plays for Manchester City in the Champions League and earns a lot of money and does this, then he can never play for me again. I can’t accept this from him. For me, he’s finished. I cannot go on with him. If I decide these things then he’s finished. At Bayern Munich, do you think this would happen? Would it happen at Milan or United? I am the manager. I make the decisions and in my opinion he can’t play for me again.”

“The achievement of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, to play 900 and 700-odd games respectively for Manchester United is remarkable,” he said. “To still have the hunger and desire to be as good as they are is remarkable. Look at their achievements, year in, year out, in the Barclays Premier League. And Scholes is still able to come back after six months out and give United a lift. As much as anything, it’s testament to his fitness and professionalism that he can make such an impact.”

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