As an Oldham fan growing up and a former manager of the club, Paul Scholes was desperately sad to see the Latics relegated from the Football League for the first time in its history.
The cruel irony that it happened following defeat by the club he is a co-owner of was not lost on Scholes either. The 47-year-old is one of a number of former Manchester United players who owns a controlling stake of Salford City. Saturday's 2-1 win for the Ammies hammered in the final nail in Oldham's relegation coffin.
It was a game full of flashpoints, not least of all the pitch invasion from unhappy homes fans which led to the game being delayed for more than an hour. When it eventually did resume for the final few minutes of play, it was to a backdrop of an empty stadium with fans not permitted back in.
Scholes, who had a brief spell in charge of Oldham back in 2019, admits it was a bittersweet day on Saturday. On one hand his Salford side kept alive their hopes of clinching a League Two play-off spot. But on the other the club he grew up supporting and watching on the terraces created an unwanted slice of history by becoming the first-ever club to play in the Premier League and go on to drop into non-league.
"It’s a big disappointment. I know I was part of Salford, but that was only a small part of it," Scholes told talkSPORT . “As an Oldham fan, I went to all those big games as a kid with my dad, my dad was a massive Oldham fan. I’m really disappointed they’ve dropped out of the league.
“They’re hoping to keep (manager) John Sheridan for next season, and I’m sure with the right budget... He’s been a fantastic manager for Oldham four or five times now, so hopefully he’s the right man to lead them back to the Football League, and things can improve there.”
Scholes' brief spell as manager saw him last just 31 days. He would oversee just seven games, winning just once. He is one of a number of managers to work under the Latics' owner Abdallah Lemsagam. Speaking to BT Sport in 2019, Scholes spoke bluntly about the issues at play prior to him resigning.
He said: "I was a local lad, I was from Oldham. You always think you might be the one person to change it and make it better. I heard so many stories and I knew it wouldn't be an ideal job or the perfect job that I was walking into.
"I knew there was a lot of work to do. They were really good lads who were trying to improve. The facilities weren't great, but again I knew that. But I'd heard loads of stories about interference and the first three weeks there was little bits of it. It wasn't so much 'leave that player out' or 'he can't play' - there was nothing like that, just subtle hints.
"In the last week there was a couple of issues with experienced professionals that I felt they didn't deserve to be treated the way the club wanted to treat them. I respected the players but once I get told 'don't play him' then that's when it's time to go."
