Senior trio let Man Utd youngsters down vs Southampton, says Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes has pinned Manchester United’s disappointing draw with Southampton on the team’s senior players, including the likes of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Ashley Young.

The former United midfielder has accused the more experienced players of letting down the youngsters who performed well in the 1-1 draw at St Mary’s.

How did Man Utd’s youngsters get on v Southampton? Five things to know…

• Daniel James scored United’s opener at St. Mary’s.
• It was the 21-year-old’s third goal in four appearances for his new club.
• Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 21, and Scott McTominay, 22, also started.
• Mason Greenwood, 17, came off the bench and almost scored a winner.
• Scholes believes the youngsters were let down by the older heads.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men took the lead in the first half when 21-year-old Daniel James struck his third goal in four appearances for his new club since arriving from Swansea City in the summer.

But United struggled to take control of the game from that point onwards, eventually conceding an equaliser to Jannik Vestergaard.

And despite being pleased with Juan Mata as one of the older heads, Scholes was not impressed by some of the Spaniard’s contemporaries.

“I am disappointed. It looked like from when the moment Juan Mata went off, actually,” Scholes said.

“I was surprised because I thought if anybody is going to create something it’s Juan Mata.

“But it wasn’t the young players I was disappointed with, it was more the experienced players.

“When Matic came on he constantly gave the ball away, Ashley Young gave the ball away, I don’t know how many times Paul Pogba lost possession.

“These are the people that young players are looking up to, the examples you’re looking at.”

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Scholes dismisses Man Utd’s top four chances

Manchester United beat Chelsea 4-0 on the opening weekend of the Premier League but have since drawn against Southampton and Wolves either side of a surprise home defeat to Crystal Palace.

The 20-time English champions missed out on a place in the top four last season, and Scholes believes there is little chance they will qualify for the Champions League this time around.

He added: “I think you almost have to write United off for the next two years, this team, until Ole Gunnar has cleared everything he wants out, has four or five transfer windows, United are going to be behind Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham.

“I think this is United at the minute, you have to be patient with the young players, but the experienced players have to step up.

“We’ve seen over and over again how many mistakes experienced players are making, it’s difficult for young players to come into a team like that.”

United face in-form Leicester City at Old Trafford after the international break.