Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has defended his decision to coax Paul Scholes out of retirement.

Scholes, 37, retired from football at the end of last season after 17 years at Old Trafford, but was asked to make his return following a string of injuries to United's midfield.

He made his second debut for the club in Sunday's 3-2 FA Cup win over Manchester City, coming on as a 60th minute substitute. In his half-hour cameo, Scholes went on to make more passes than any City player managed throughout the whole game, with a 97% completion rate.

However, one of his mis-placed passes led to City's second goal.

"There were no negatives as far as I was concerned," Ferguson told Eurosport-Yahoo.

"One or two people have been negative. They're making out it's been a 'regressive step' for Manchester United. He's not going to play every game but in terms of composure and passing ability, is there a better player going around? Definitely not."

United currently sit second in the Premier League, three points behind league leaders Manchester City.