Speaking on ITV on Sunday during the broadcaster's coverage of Ireland vs England, Paul Scholes said that Phil Jones was not "clever enough" to play at centre-back.
When it comes to criticising a player, being former teammates is seemingly not a mitigating factor for Scholes.
I just think at centre back, when he is playing against clever forwards, he tends to get dragged out of position quite a easily.
At right back you still need to be clever positionally but I think he can use his pace and power and he hasn't got a bad delivery either.
When he first came to Manchester United he was a right back, he played right back all the time. He has got strength and power and he can get up and down the pitch.
I just think at centre half he is not quite clever enough to do it.
Jones responded to the criticism today informing that comments such as those by Scholes no longer bother him.
Quoted by the Telegraph, the Manchester United player said:
People comment all the time about individuals and long gone are the days when I used to take notice are saying and react to it. It doesn’t bother me one bit.
I’ve played in all three positions [centre-back, right-back and defensive midfield] and sometimes it can be difficult going from one position to the next.
I feel more comfortable at right back [than midfield] but centre back is where I really want to play.
I read after the Italy game when I played in midfield that I was no Pirlo, but then I could have told you that before the game started!
Picture credit: Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILE
