No End In Sight For Manchester United Trio Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs And Paul Scholes

Gary Neville has paid tribute to his fellow elder statesmen at Manchester United, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, and revealed that they will continue play for as long as they are wanted by the club.

The 34-year-old right-back has had a difficult time with injury and lack of game-time over the last two seasons, but has refused to suggest that his United career is coming to an end – though he has conceded publicly that his international career is probably over.

In contrast, Giggs and Scholes are very much first-team regulars for Sir Alex Ferguson, and both midfielders have relied on their experience to adapt their games sufficiently to continue to shine at the highest level, albeit having to miss the odd game to recover between matches.

“Giggsy’s performances have been absolutely outstanding,” Neville said on United’s official website.

“He’s been probably our most creative player in key moments – setting up three goals against [Manchester] City, two against Arsenal, and scoring against Tottenham.

“He’s winning us matches and his performance levels are fantastic. Scholesy is still a brilliant player for us, too. He can still control the pace of matches for us, everything sticks with him and he never wastes a pass. They’re still both fantastic.”

Neville revealed that it was the hunger to continue winning trophies that has kept them going.

He continued: “We keep playing because United keep asking us to!
“There’s still an opportunity for us here and we want to keep winning season upon season.

“If the club told us to leave, we’d leave. Playing for this club is the best thing in the world and we’ve been doing it for a long time now. Why would we want it to stop?

“We still feel as though there are contributions to be made on and off the pitch – and so does the manager, which is the most important thing.”

The defender paid special tribute to Red Devils boss Ferguson, who he singled out as the main reason why the three veterans have never wanted to leave their childhood team.

“The boss is the reason we’re still at the club – and the reason we were given an opportunity in the first place,” Neville explained.

“He promoted youth all those years back, sorted out the youth set-up and has pushed it ever since. Young players have always broken through and he’s been the key to us being here so long; he’s in control.

“We’re soldiers, if you like, and we’re happy to do a job that makes him want to keep us here.”

Phillip Wen, Goal.com