Paul Scholes has suggested Wayne Rooney may have peaked too early and questioned whether the England manager Roy Hodgson would have the “balls” to drop the striker if he failed to sparkle at the World Cup.

The former Manchester United midfielder also believes he will not be asked to stay the club next season under Louis van Gaal’s management and took a parting shot at Ed Woodward, claiming the executive-vice chairman, “has an awful lot to prove” in this summer’s transfer market.

Scholes suggested that his former team-mate Rooney must prove he is world class at next month’s World Cup and questioned if Hodgson would be brave enough to drop him if required. He said: “I’m not saying Wayne needs to be dropped but if form doesn’t get up to scratch in the warm-ups, or in the first game of the World Cup, it’ll be interesting to see if the England management team has the balls to make that decision. We have quality forwards in the squad this time. That should give Wayne the competition he needs to spur him on a little more.”

Scholes believes the striker must row back on his all-action game. “Wayne wants all the responsibility to score,” he said. “He’ll try to play left-back, right-back. Sometimes he does that too much instead of saving himself and his energy for what his teams need – the ball in the net. He needs to use his energy more effectively now as he’s a player who likes to be up front on his own and I don’t think he’s great with partnerships. To get the very best from Wayne in Rio, the manager [Roy Hodgson] needs to tell him: ‘Don’t bother running back. Stay up top. Stay centre-forward. Score goals. That’s your job in my team.’”

Scholes went on: “There’s a chance he’s worn out. Wayne’s peak may have been a lot younger than what we’d expect of footballers traditionally. Age 28 or 29 has been the normal ‘peak’. With Wayne, it could have been when he scored 27 league goals in 2011-12 when he was 26.”

Scholes was brought back to United as a coach under the interim manager, Ryan Giggs, for the last four matches of the season. But with Van Gaal now the permanent manager and Giggs his No2, Scholes, along with Phil Neville and Nicky Butt, who had each also assisted the Welshman, have yet to have any official clarification regarding their future.

Scholes, though, who won 11 titles with United, is convinced he will not be asked to continue at the club. “I’ve not spoken to Edward Woodward. I came back for Ryan Giggs for the last few games of last season to try to help out but I’m not waiting for a phone call and don’t expect to be at United next season.”

The 39-year-old then offered the first public criticism of Woodward, who oversaw United’s disastrous summer in the transfer market. “David Moyes took a lot of stick, but I believe he’s a top manager. I’d question if 10 months was enough time [before he was sacked],” Scholes told Paddy Power Blog. “Edward Woodward has an awful lot to prove this time that he’s good enough at his job. He has to bring the players in that the new manager wants. It’s obvious that last year he didn’t manage to do that. If he doesn’t we are not going to get anywhere near the top.”