Soccer

Scott McTominay: ‘Sometimes you just need to play with a smile on your face’

Manchester United midfielder reveals the lack of joy that ignited his stellar run of form for Scotland ahead of Northern Ireland clash

Scott McTominay of Scotland during training before the clash with Northern Ireland. Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Scott McTominay of Scotland during training before the clash with Northern Ireland. Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Jamie Jackson
Mon Mar 25 2024 - 22:30

Scott McTominay has revealed that a year ago Steve Clarke made the midfielder realise he was no longer happy due to a lack of game time for Manchester United and this ignited his stellar run of form for Scotland.

In the subsequent 12 months the 27-year-old scored seven times in eight Euro 2024 qualifiers including both goals in the 2-0 win over Spain at Hampden Park on 28 March. That followed a previous double from McTominay in the 3-0 victory against Cyprus four days earlier, the opening qualifier and first match since Clarke discussed his demeanour.

McTominay said: “That was the camp where the manager and I sat down and he said that I didn’t look happy, that I didn’t look like I was smiling about the place. I thought ‘Maybe he’s right.’ I went and spoke to my mum, my dad, my girlfriend at the time and they all pretty much said the same thing.”

At that juncture McTominay’s last Premier League start for United was two months before - a 3-2 loss at Arsenal on 22 January - with his only two other starts the FA Cup wins over West Ham and Fulham earlier in March.

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He said: “Sometimes, you just need to enjoy football and play with a smile on your face and take it easy. Not everything’s the end of the world if you’re not playing so well and you’re not in the team, whatever.

“Ever since that, to be fair, I’ve just thought ‘Let’s go for it’. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders. It shows you that by speaking to someone – especially the manager because he’s honest and he’ll tell you up front – it can make a significant difference.

“He said he wanted to see the kid who was happy whenever he first came on the scene and was playing every week. He saw a boy who was smiling all the time. Now I look back and think: ‘Yeah, maybe sometimes the pressure and stuff like that can mount and you don’t realise it can affect you.’

Scotland's midfielder Scott McTominay in action against the Netherlands. Photograph: Maurice van Steen/ANP/AFP via Getty Images
Scotland's midfielder Scott McTominay in action against the Netherlands. Photograph: Maurice van Steen/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

“You just need to take a step back and say ‘Listen, let’s just play football, how it was as a kid and enjoy it.’ It was that I wasn’t playing at that time, so I had pressure on myself to play. I don’t like it whenever I’m not playing. It hurts me whenever I’m not playing. So, I’m obviously going to be upset whenever I come into camp. I’m running into the training ground, I’m not sulking, but I’m wanting to play. It’s your livelihood, you want to be a part of it as much as possible.

“After that conversation, obviously things click a little bit and you think ‘You’ve got one career, you might as well go for it while you’re here.’”

McTominay’s international displays caused him to be voted the Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.

“I look back and look at the players Scotland have had and winning this award gives me the most pride because of the amazing players we’ve had and following in their footsteps,” he said.

Clarke’s team have failed to win any of their last six games, with Friday’s 4-0 loss to Netherlands a low point. After dominating in the first half in Amsterdam they conceded three goals in the last 18 minutes.

Scotland host Northern Ireland on Tuesday at Hampden Park and McTominay is sure they will soon reverse their form.

“There will be a couple of games coming up when people will realise that we can bang three or four in and suddenly it’s a different story,” he said. “Don’t be surprised when the next big game comes along and we take our chances. That is something we do need to get better at but things could look very different. There will be a few teams that are surprised.

“For the first 70 minutes, yeah, it was good [against Netherlands] but we have to score. We understand that we have to score. It’s not even a case of ifs, buts or maybes, you have to score the goals when you get presented the opportunities we had, myself included.”

- Guardian