Manchester United Veteran Paul Scholes Happy to be Back on the Pitch

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes says he is happy he decided to come out of retirement in January.

The 37 year old called it a day at the end of the last season, bringing the curtain down on his 17 year career at Old Trafford. The red-haired Englishman then became a part of the club's coaching staff but was coaxed out of retirement by manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the player has now admitted the decision to retire was the wrong call.

"The coaching was okay but it wasn't anything like playing," ESPN quoted Scholes as saying, adding, "I was still coming in every day and seeing players. It was difficult to adjust, I admit that. I really missed the playing side up until Christmas, when I went to see the manager."

Scholes has played a vital role since returning to the side as Ferguson's team are on a 11-match unbeaten run, which has led to a five-point lead over rivals Manchester City and a record 20th league title is now theirs to lose.

The former England international also helped United knock out Roberto Mancini's club from the FA Cup in his comeback match.

"A couple of months ago, we would have snatched someone's hand off at the thought of being top. What we've done is put ourselves in a decent position to go on and win the league but at the moment we're still far from that," Manutd.com quoted Scholes as saying.

However, the veteran midfielder admits that City are still a strong side and capable of beating any other in the world. Moreover, he cautioned his club mates, adding the Citizens were still very much in the title race.

"There are still 21 points to play for and we're going up against a very good team in City, there's no doubt about that. They've had a fantastic season and they've got a great squad of players and they're capable of beating anybody. They're capable of going on runs and winning games and they're capable of going to Arsenal and winning there," he said.

Neverthless, he did also admit he was not looking over his shoulder at City, given the five-point lead his club enjoys.

"There was a time when we were thinking about City, when we were two or three points behind them and we were hoping they'd be beaten. But now we have this five-point lead we can afford to just concentrate on ourselves. If we do that we'll hopefully be okay," Scholes added.