Glenn Hoddle admits Paul Scholes is the best player he ever coached and calls his technique ‘second to none’ as the former England boss raves about his calmness while reminiscing about calling him up to the Three Lions
- Glenn Hoddle has claimed Paul Scholes was the best player he ever managed
- He has praised Scholes’ technique and said he immediately caught his eye
- Hoddle has also stated that Scholes kept Matt Le Tissier out of his England team
Former England manager Glenn Hoddle has claimed that Paul Scholes was the best player that he ever worked with as a coach.
Hoddle handed Scholes his international debut in 1997, and the ex-Manchester United star went on to play under him at the World Cup in France the following year.
Sitting alongside one another as pundits for BT Sport ahead of United’s home clash with Southampton on Saturday, the pair took a trip down memory lane, and Hoddle was quick to heap praise on Scholes as he admitted that the midfielder only had one flaw.
Glenn Hoddle (right) has admitted that Paul Scholes (left) was the best player he ever coached
‘Everyone says to me, “who’s the best player you’ve coached?” It’s Paul,’ he said.
‘He had one thing that I think he had to improve on, and it wasn’t much really, I was forever trying to get him to stand on his feet, not see the red mist, because you could see he wanted to win the ball and when he went in sometimes I thought, “he’s going to get sent off”.
‘That was the only problem he had as a player! If that’s your only problem then you’ve got a chance. He was excellent, his technique was second to none.’
Scholes was brought into the England squad as a 22-year-old, but Hoddle claimed that he stood out straight away.
Hoddle handed Scholes his England debut, and had great faith in the Man United midfielder
‘He wasn’t a young, young kid but he was compared to the experience around him, and it was a very, very experienced squad actually.
‘The likes of Shearer, Sheringham, Ince, Tony Adams, it was a really, really experienced squad and he just stepped out onto that training pitch, as did David Beckham, as did this crop of youngsters that we had from Manchester United at that time, a very exciting time, and he just looked at home. I went, “he’ll do for me!”‘, he added.
Across his seven-year international career, Scholes picked up 66 caps, and kept some very talented players out of the starting XI along the way, including Southampton’s Matt Le Tissier.
Hoddle (right) revealed Scholes’ excellence meant players like Matt Le Tissier weren’t picked
Explaining the reasoning behind Le Tissier’s lack of opportunities for England, Hoddle revealed that it was Scholes’ all-round ability that consistently gave him the edge over his teammate.
‘Matt Le Tissier was a wonderfully creative player, beautiful player, and people say “why didn’t you play Matt as much?” Because of Paul Scholes.
‘And that was my answer, because Paul could play in so many different positions, knew the game, understood the defensive side of the game and did what he did with the ball as well. He scored goals, he scored headed goals, he could create,’ Hoddle said.
