Roy - I didn't speak to Scholes - New England coach wary of being snubbed by midfielder

Posted Monday, May 21, 2012 by skysports.com

Roy - I didn't speak to Scholes - New England coach wary of being snubbed by midfielder
Paul Scholes: Manchester United did not speak to Roy Hodgson about a possible England return

Roy Hodgson admits he did not speak to Paul Scholes to discover if the veteran midfielder wanted to be part of England's squad at Euro 2012.

Scholes retired from international football after the European Championship in Portugal eight years ago and initially called time on his club career 12 months ago.

However, the 37-year-old returned to the Manchester United squad in January before signing a fresh one-year contract earlier this month.

His performances for United in recent months prompted a clamour for Scholes' intelligent passing game to be added to England's squad for the upcoming tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

He had previously been asked to come out of international retirement for the 2010 World Cup, but declined the opportunity to be part of then coach Fabio Capello's plans.

Hodgson concedes he did not want to risk Scholes turning down the chance of an England return again and confirmed he did not discuss the situation with the player.

"I didn't speak to Paul Scholes," said Hodgson.

"Although I am a great admirer of him, he is coming to the end of his career.

"I wouldn't have wanted to run the risk of a rebuff because I'm not certain he would want to juggle Manchester United and England again."