Paul Scholes showed his true colours ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s clash against Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League final. The Premier League giants locked horns at the San Mames Stadium on Wednesday night as they battled it out for a piece of major silverware.
Speaking on TNT Sports ahead of the heavyweight bout, Scholes was quizzed on the ‘it’s only Spurs lads’ – a comment famously delivered by Sir Alex Ferguson during his spell in the dugout. The former United midfielder said: “It feels a bit derogatory to speak about such a great football club like that.
“Obviously, we knew probably most of the time we had the beating of Tottenham, it was probably before Gareth’s time. It wasn’t quite then, we were always confident against Tottenham.
“I know there’s been a lot said, ‘it’s only Tottenham lads and that should be enough to win a game’. Listen, you still have to play a very good team of footballers, and today as well, Spurs are still a good team and have the upper hand on United.”
Scholes added: “I don’t think they’ve beaten them for six games and lost the last three against them. It’s not quite ‘it’s Tottenham’ anymore, is it, I don’t think.”
The TNT Sports presenter, of course, referring to Roy Keane’s interview with The Guardian back in October 2014. Recounting a team talk from Sir Alex, the former United captain said: “I thought I knew what the group might need, that we didn’t need a big team talk.
“It was Tottenham at home. I thought: ‘please don’t go on about Tottenham’. We all know what Tottenham is about, they are nice and tidy but we’ll f***ing do them. He came in and said: ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham’, and that was it. Brilliant.”
Keane added: “It could have been a European semi-final, it could have been Leeds away, it could have been a home League Cup tie – Alex Ferguson always had a feel of the group.”
Scholes leapt to Spurs’ defence ahead of the Europa League final, but he still backed United to walk away victorious. Speaking on TNT Sports earlier in the month, the former United midfielder said: “It’s the history of this club.
“It’s the history of winning trophies all the time, even in these bad years that we are having. We are still going to League Cup finals, two FA cup finals, winning the FA Cup last year.
“We have got this Europa League final. I am not saying they will win it, but history tells me they have a great chance of winning it. We know Tottenham have beaten them three times and Tottenham are a really good team, I like Tottenham.
“If they watch that first 70 minutes they will think ‘we have got a right chance here’. But for some reason the history of this club, it’s almost like Real Madrid at times.
“When they aren’t playing that well but they can still go on and win European cups. I just feel the odds are slightly in Man United’s favour, although Tottenham are a good side.”
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