ALEX FERGUSON HAS revealed that Paul Scholes officially rejoined Manchester United two days before last Sunday’s FA Cup clash with neighbours City, but that they somehow kept it secret.

Speaking to Eurosport, the Old Trafford boss said that Scholes’ return was kept not only from the press and the public, but also his Old Trafford team-mates, as it was believed his surprise inclusion in Sunday’s matchday squad would spur United on to victory.

It worked, as they recorded a narrow 3-2 win over their great rivals.

“I don’t know how we managed (to keep his return under wraps). We registered him on the Friday, and we thought somehow it would get out. We kept it on Friday as late as we possibly could,” Ferguson said.

“Of course the game was on Sunday so you had Friday night, the whole of Saturday and Sunday morning to worry about it, but somehow we managed to keep it quiet. We didn’t let any of the players know.

“We did that simply because of the impact value. We were going away from home in a very difficult FA Cup tie against City. We had 5,000 fans at that end of the ground and as soon as they knew his name was on the team sheet they were fantastic, there was a great response.

“There were no negatives as far as I was concerned … The only negative you were going to get was from the press, and one or two have been negative.

“They’re making out it’s been a ‘regressive step’ for Manchester United. How can it be regressive? You’re getting a player for nothing who’s been part of the club for 20-odd years, so how can it be regressive?

“He knows the club. He’s not going to play every game, and Paul knows that. But in terms of composure and passing ability, is there a better player going around? Definitely not.”

For more information, check out the official Eurosport website here >