Carrick lauds Scholes impact

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has praised the impact Paul Scholes has had on the team since his return last weekend.

Scholes scored the opening goal of the champions’ 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Saturday.

“It was fitting that he scored on his first start back. It was great to have him back because he’s such a great player,” Carrick told BBC Sport.

“He fitted right in and although he was blowing a bit after an hour it was great to have him in the side.”

“It’s just his presence, he doesn’t say anything at the best of times Scholesy but everyone appreciates what he brings to the team and what he brings to the squad.”

“Last week he gave us a boost before the game (against Manchester City) seeing him around the place and it’s a great addition for us going into the end of the season.”

United could have scored more goals than the three they produced such was their dominance and Carrick admitted some frustration was starting to creep into the minds of the players before Scholes struck.

“I thought we played some good stuff at times in the first half and we created opportunities that we could have put away and we started thinking ‘is this going to be one of them?’ but the goal right before half-time gave us momentum going into the second half,” Carrick said.

“The second goal then put us in a great position and then it was nice to cap it off.”

“It’s always great to score. I managed to get one the other week at QPR. This one was slightly different but it was great to see it go in.”