Paul Scholes demands Bruno Fernandes change at Man Utd after Red Devils icon left furious

Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, and the Red Devils skipper has been criticised by Paul Scholes for his performance

Paul Scholes has criticised Bruno Fernandes for his troublesome behaviour and lack of positional sense after the Manchester United skipper saw red in their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Portuguese maestro was given his marching orders with a straight red card in the first half of Sunday's (September 29) humiliating 3-0 loss at Old Trafford, following an ill-judged tackle on James Maddison.

His early end to the game marked another low point in a season so far to forget for the 30-year-old. He is yet to find the back of the net in nine appearances across all competitions this term.

In dissecting United's third league defeat, Red Devils legend Scholes pinpointed Fernandes' recurring issue with petulance on the field and his tendency to abandon his position.

"Look, I think that he needs to play with more discipline, there's no doubt," Scholes said. "When I say discipline, I mean the position where he plays on the football pitch. As a number 10, he has the responsibility to make his team play good football.

"But for me he vacates that area too much, the amount of time you see him dropping into midfield and sometimes left-back, sometimes right-back, it can sometimes mess the whole method or function of the team up."

Despite lambasting his overall performance, Scholes did express some sympathy towards Fernandes' red, suggesting referee Chris Kavanagh was too hasty in brandishing the card, reports the Manchester Evening News.

"It wasn't a sending off, there's no doubt about that. I think the referee acted a little bit hastily, he was a bit too quick to go for it without actually having a little word with his linesman and thinking about it."

Scholes, however, wasn't afraid to blast Fernandes for his rash behaviour which resulted in United being reduced to 10 men, expressing scepticism over whether the captain can eliminate this aspect from his game.

"But again, it was petulant and it gave the referee an opportunity to do it," said the Salford City co-owner. "We've seen a lot of petulance from our captain over the last couple of years, throwing arms about and he knows himself that it needs to get out of his game, but realistically, is that going to happen?

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"He's of an age where you don't really change that much. The captain has to set an example and yesterday just wasn't good enough."

Following his red card, Fernandes will be absent for United's upcoming three league games next month against Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham United.

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