Scholes tells Fernandes to 'shut his mouth' after United skipper slates team-mates in Hull defeat

Paul Scholes has told Bruno Fernandes to “shut his mouth” after the Manchester United captain publicly criticised his team-mates following a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Hull City — a result that represented only Michael Carrick’s second loss as United manager.

Fernandes, speaking after the game, said United had repeated the same errors that plagued them last season, pointing to poor ball retention, a failure to press, and vulnerability from set-pieces. “Same mistakes as we did last season, every away game we give too much of the ball to them,” the Portuguese skipper said. “In the first 20 minutes, the goalkeeper was the one with the most touches. We needed to press more, be more aggressive.”

Scholes, however, was unimpressed with the captain’s candour. Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football, the United legend said: “When you perform the way he did as well, I think it’s probably best to keep your mouth shut, because he didn’t have his best performance either.”

The defeat has intensified scrutiny over United’s summer transfer business. The club spent £85 million on midfielders Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, both of whom were substituted in the second half as Carrick searched for a way back into the match against the relegation favourites. Scholes was blunt in his assessment of the new arrivals, saying: “I saw the central midfield the other day and I thought ‘that is no better than last.’ When you’re recruiting players and looking for a different team, you think, ‘I’ve got to get better.’ To me, on Saturday, that wasn’t better than Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro together.”

United are expected to add a third central midfielder to their ranks in the form of Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, with a £70 million deal reported to be close to completion. That would bring the club’s total outlay on central midfielders this summer to £135 million.

Carrick’s side return to Old Trafford to face Ipswich Town on Sunday, 30 August, looking to arrest a slide that has already prompted uncomfortable questions about the direction of the rebuild.