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Scotland assistant coach, John Carver, has highlighted Scotland’s victory over Spain in March 2023 as the moment that Manchester United’s Scott McTominay regained his form.
The player was linked with a move away in the summer to clubs such as West Ham and Bayern Munich, but no move came to pass.
Naturally, he started the season on the bench but found a role for himself as an impact substitute, scoring two late goals against Brentford to turn the game on its head.
McTominay has found his way back into the starting lineup more recently and scored the opening goal in United’s incredible 4-3 rollercoaster win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter final last weekend.
The Scot has been even more instrumental for his national side, as his seven goals in EURO 2024 qualifying guided his country to a second place finish in the group, which was enough to book their ticket for this summer’s tournament.
As one would imagine, Scotland’s national team assistant coach is delighted with the performances of McTominay and has highlighted the catalyst for his turnaround in performances.
The Daily Record reported Carver’s comments before Scotland’s tie against the Netherlands.
Commenting on one of the most famous nights for Scottish football in recent times he said, “think about the game against Spain. Rodri is one of the best midfielders in the world and yet Scott was on that same stage, competing with him and excelling against him. He must have thought, ‘Rodri is one of the best players in the world, I can compete with him and be on the same stage’. He has gone back to Man United with so much determination and it’s helped us. It’s great he’s playing all the time. Before the European campaign started he wasn’t getting a great deal of game time”.
Carver also claimed that Scotland’s use of McTominay in a more advanced role has significantly helped Manchester United and even been crucial for Erik ten Hag’s job.
“You look at some of the players we have in our team who have had unbelievable seasons. I’ll use McTominay as an example. He was struggling to get in the Man United team. He came to us and was outstanding, scoring goals in a slightly different role, more offensive and getting in the box”.
“He’s gone back and fought his way into that Man Utd team and now the manager is delighted. He’s got him in the team and there were a few games where he saved his job I think. He is an example of a player who has gone away to his club, worked extremely hard and he can fit into the system we want to play”.
The United academy product has been recently awarded for his contribution to Scottish football over the past year as he won Scotland men’s national team Player of the Year award.
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