Oldham Athletic's decision to move to tie up players to new deal without consulting him was reason why Paul Scholes walked out of the club last week.

The Mirror says Scholes walked out on Oldham after claiming that 12 of his players had been promised new contracts behind his back.

The former Manchester United star had become frustrated with life at the League Two club under owner Abdallah Lemsagam.

When the 44-year-old took over last month, he insisted that he would be in charge of all team matters. But he blew a fuse when he learned that 12 of the 20 players who were out of contract this summer had been offered new deals.

Scholes wanted to make the final decisions on who stayed and who went.

The fact that a dozen of his League Two squad had already been informed they would be there next season, without his input, led him to telling Lemsagam that his short stay at the club he supported as a boy was over.