“Man Utd dressing room is a disaster’ –Scholes reveals Lingard chat
Scholes revealed he had a conversation with Jesse Lingard in which the pair discussed United’s dressing room
The air of soap operas surrounding Manchester United and their failing season intensified when Paul Scholes revealed he had a conversation with Jesse Lingard in which the pair discussed United’s dressing room being “a disaster” and Ralf Rangnick offered only a moderate rebuttal of that view.
Speaking on DAZN where he was analysing United’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, Scholes said: “It is an absolute mess. It is a disaster of a dressing room. I had a quick chat with Jesse the other day. I’m sure he won’t mind me saying — the dressing room is just a disaster.”
Rangnick was quizzical when those remarks were reported to him in the post-match press conference at the Emirates Stadium. “I don’t know, you have to ask Jesse Lingard if you have this information,” United’s interim manager said. “Obviously after games like today or the games at Liverpool or Everton, there is massive disappointment in the locker room for sure. That is normal.
“It would rather be a problem if that was different so this is for me normal. I think the whole group get on with each other. I don’t see that there is an issue with regard to the atmosphere in the locker room.”
Lingard came on as a substitute in an open game at the Emirates, characterised by defensive errors but good attacking from both sides, and moments of controversial officiating. Arsenal scored twice in the opening 32 minutes, Bukayo Saka adding to Nuno Tavares’s early strike after a penalty awarded for a foul on Saka by Alex Telles, following a VAR review.
Cristiano Ronaldo replied with his 100th Premier League goal and United were aggrieved not to receive their own penalty when Cedric Soares handled when stumbling as Jadon Sancho dribbled into Arsenal’s box. Rangnick was unhappy about that, as well the disallowing of a second-half Ronaldo strike for a disputable offside.
He also believed Anthony Elanga deserved a penalty and that Eddie Nketiah impeded David de Gea’s vision when standing in an offside position as Granit Xhaka belted home a long-range shot to cement Arsenal’s victory in the 70th minute.
Other talking points included Rangnick’s decision to drop United’s captain, Harry Maguire, and hand the armband to Bruno Fernandes — who missed a penalty at 2-1 when United were ascendant. Asked why Ronaldo had not taken it, Rangnick said: “Cristiano told me after the game that he didn’t feel well enough and that’s why Bruno took it.
The interim manager declared United’s chances of securing Champions League football next season to be over, with Arsenal moving into fourth and opening a six-point gap on his side having played one game fewer. “Look at the table and the teams with Tottenham and Arsenal. I think it is not very realistic to dream and speak about the top four.”
He admitted morale among his players is low and proving difficult to lift. The issue is not so much motivation as “keeping the energy up”, Rangnick said.
United’s reverse was their fourth consecutive away league defeat — their worst sequence on the road in 41 years. That run, plus Lingard’s apparent revelation about dressing-room politics, highlighted the task facing Erik ten Hag who last week was announced at the club’s next permanent manager.
