Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has accused England manager Thomas Tuchel of wanting to be sacked after his comments following the Three Lions' World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina. Tuchel's substitutions were criticised, and he took aim at the DNA of English football, suggesting he never instructed his players to sit deep to defend a lead. Despite England reaching the semi-finals—their best finish since winning the tournament in 1996—Tuchel's future has been questioned.
Scholes Questions Tuchel's Intentions
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football, Scholes said: 'I think his comments since the game have actually made it worse than the performances. Saying it's not in the English DNA. You're part of that DNA now, Thomas.' Scholes added: 'He's gone on the offensive and blamed players a lot. That is something our manager would never do. He'd blame us behind closed doors on the training ground and meetings but in public never. I think Thomas Tuchel has a bit of a history with this at football clubs; he blames players and falls out with sporting directors. You just wonder with the way he's been speaking, 'do I want to get sacked?''
Tuchel's Contract and History
Tuchel is under contract until after the Euros in two years' time and has indicated he intends to stay. However, Scholes remains unconvinced. 'It seems to indicate that he does want to leave from the stuff he was saying because it was quite hard to come back from that,' Scholes said. 'And I didn't realise until yesterday, when I heard someone talking about it, how much he fell out with people at football clubs he's been at. You think about it, he's not been at clubs for very long, has he? PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich. He falls out with people and maybe just engineering his way out.'
Nicky Butt Also Criticises Tuchel
Former Manchester United teammate Nicky Butt also questioned Tuchel's approach. 'He's obviously an honest coach, and he says what he thinks, but do you think the PR who works with him, obviously they have a big PR at the FA, do you not think they should be coaching him on what to say? 'If you're going to stay on in this job, Thomas, you need to say this.'' Scholes replied: 'I don't think he cares. He's had big jobs, he's not bothered.'
Butt added: 'I get that but they should lead him in the right direction. If he wants to stay on he needs to play the game.' Butt was also frustrated with Tuchel's squad selection. 'You look at the squad, he brings defenders on, he's not really got that many attacking options to go on anyway. Rashford and for me Watkins should have been brought on. Even that 10 role with Palmer and Foden at home, they must be sat at home thinking 'what am I doing here on holiday with my feet up, I should be trying to win us the World Cup.''
