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Football

11th Feb 2019

Paul Scholes officially confirmed as new Oldham Athletic manager

Kyle Picknell

There were concerns his ownership stake in Salford City would prevent him from taking charge

Paul Scholes, renowned former pinger of footballs, has officially been announced as the new manager of Oldham Athletic. The League Two side confirmed the news after he was cleared by the Football League following a meeting on Friday.

Salford City, the club Scholes owns a 10% stake in along with his former teammates Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and now David Beckham, are currently 5th and in contention to be promoted from the National League into League Two at the end of the season.

EFL rules prevent a person holding roles with two clubs at the same time but it was ruled that Scholes’ 10% holding was “purely for investment purposes”.

Scholes has signed a one-and-a-half year contract with the club he supported as a boy and will take over with the club 14th in the table, nine points off the play-offs and 14 points above the relegation zone.

“It’s no secret how much he has wanted this job in the past and how much he loves this club, so I’m very happy to bring him into our family at Oldham Athletic,” said Latics owner Abdallah Lemsagam.

“Paul will have my backing 100% and hopefully we can work together to bring success back to this club.”

He will take charge of his first game almost immediately as Oldham face Yeovil Town at Boundary Park on Tuesday night.