Louis van Gaal has come under plenty of criticism under recent weeks for the style of football Manchester United are playing. The results haven’t been too bad, with United currently sitting third in the league and in the next round of the FA Cup, but the football hasn’t been exciting to watch.

Paul Scholes, in his column in The Independent, has spoken about the expectations on players when he was in the team, and his feelings on the football that United are currently playing.

Part of being a Manchester United player under Sir Alex Ferguson, perhaps the most important part of being one of United’s attacking players, was that when you were in possession you had to take risks in order to create goalscoring chances. It was not an option; it was an obligation.

In the periods of my career when I stopped passing the ball forward, or when I stopped looking for the risky pass that might open up a defence, the consequences were the same. The manager stopped picking me. I got back into the team when I went back to doing it the way he wanted.

United’s history was built on attacking football, which does not always mean that the team kept clean sheets or did not concede chances. Why do you think United have had some of the best goalkeepers in the world over the years? They needed them because the team committed so many players forward.

It does not give me any pleasure to say that at the moment I am struggling to watch Louis van Gaal’s team with any great enjoyment. They beat Burnley on Wednesday night but it was Burnley who had by far the best of the first half. At times, United’s football is miserable. To beat opposing teams you have to attack, and to attack you have to take risks. Too few of the players in the current team are prepared to take those risks.

Van Gaal has responded to the criticism though, claiming that, as a fan, Paul Scholes is entitled to voice his opinion on the team.

I don’t worry about it. It is not so interesting. Paul Scholes is one of the fans I hope. Fans can criticise. That is not the problem. I’m used to that, the players are used to that. They are not first time professional football players. Maybe some players it does affect, but normally it does not affect the players and me neither.