Paul Scholes names the Manchester United teammate who ‘destroyed’ him in training

Not many players got the better of Paul Scholes on the pitch during his illustrious Manchester United playing career, but the club legend has revealed his was ‘destroyed’ by a former teammate during one of his early training sessions with the first team.

Scholes, who now combines his media duties with his responsibilities as Salford City’s head of recruitment and co-owner, is preparing for the biggest game in the League Two club’s history.

A visit to Manchester City has triggered all sorts of memories for a player who spent nearly two decades at the heart of United’s most successful teams under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Littleton Road training ground is currently used by Salford’s first team players, but back when Scholes was making his way in the game alongside his fellow class of 92 members it was the place at which he honed his skills up against some seasoned professionals who subjected him to some chastening experiences.

‘I love the place,’ Scholes told The Telegraph. ‘That’s where it all started. So many memories. It was there where you stepped up through the ranks.

‘There is a little bit of paint on the walls but the building is exactly the same, the pitches are exactly the same and every time I go there I can just picture us all jogging round.

‘Peter Schmeichel who was always at the front with Bryan Robson, Dion Dublin, Andrei Kanchelskis.’

‘One of my first training sessions there I came out and I was maybe 17 and was asked to play left-back and the club had just signed him (Kanchelskis,’ Scholes added.

‘The first-team didn’t have a game so he came over. I’m no left-back. We didn’t know much about him then.

‘We just knew he was a flying winger. He destroyed me! I couldn’t live with him!

‘We’d be on one pitch, the reserves would be on another pitch and the first team on another and you’d always have a sneaky look when you were with the under-18s and think: ‘That’s where I want to be, I want to be in Jim Ryan’s team, I want to be in the reserves.’

‘And then you’d make it there and think: ‘Right, I want to be with the first-team.’

‘First training session I was doing shooting practice against Jim Leighton! Mark Hughes was there. Bryan Robson.

‘All of a sudden you are rubbing shoulders with your heroes. They were firm but fair.

‘It was like with us when Paul Pogba or Jesse Lingard came over. You welcomed them but if their attitude was not right… it was about setting the standards.’