'I hope he was hacked!' - Patrice Evra slams Paul Scholes for Michael Carrick dig and reminds Gary Neville of woeful Valencia spell in call for support for Man Utd boss

United legend Evra has launched a scathing attack on former teammates Scholes and Neville, demanding they show more respect to interim boss Carrick. The Frenchman's outburst follows intense scrutiny directed at Carrick after a recent dip in form, despite the coach steering the club back into Champions League contention.

Tensions reached boiling point after Scholes reportedly posted a sarcastic social media message following United's 2-1 defeat to Newcastle, their first loss under the 44-year-old. Evra admitted his shock at the public nature of the criticism, noting the contrast between Scholes' current media persona and his reserved nature during their playing days.

Evra firmly stated that Carrick has done a great job at Old Trafford and urged his former teammates to support the interim manager. Speaking to Stake, he said: "I hope Paul Scholes' Instagram story is fake, I hope he was hacked. To be honest, I'm not surprised at that from Scholesy. He was the quietest player I've ever played with in my entire career. Now, in the media, he drops bombshells. I really don't understand the lack of support behind Michael Carrick; he's one of us and he's doing very well.

"There's been negative analysis from Scholesy, but also from Roy Keane and Gary Neville. It annoys me because we want to be in the top four, and those comments are unnecessary. But this is what you do when you work in TV. You can't be positive; you have to be negative. People can't forget what they have done as a manager. As players, they're legends, but as managers, they haven't done a great job."

Evra insisted that the former Middlesbrough manager's body of work deserves more credit than it is receiving from the punditry circle. He urged the squad and the fanbase to ignore the "noise" generated by those who once shared the dressing room with the current manager, who guided them to a 2-0 win over Manchester City in his first game in charge, followed by a 3-2 victory at Arsenal.

The former left-back saved his sharpest barbs for Neville, referencing the pundit's disastrous spell at Valencia, where he managed just 10 wins from 28 matches in charge. "I said to Neville: 'It's easy to talk on TV. When you were at Valencia, they asked you for paella, and you gave them fish and chips'," he added. "After three months, they said goodbye. So for them to possibly kill the career of a manager, it's a little bit too much."

United are currently battling for a top-four finish, having recorded three wins, one draw and one loss in their last five Premier League matches. Carrick's men currently sit in third place in the table with 51 points from 29 matches, the same number as Aston Villa - their next opponents- who are in fourth place.