TALKING SCOTLAND
SCOTT McTominay is, it is worth remembering amid all of the hype and hysteria about him, still just 21 and has only played in 20 games of senior football.
So it is asking a great deal of him, just as it was of Oliver Burke after he made his recordbreaking £13 million move to RB Leipzig two years ago, to shine from the start for Scotland despite the level he is playing his club football at.
Burke, who is now at West Brom, was dropped from the national team by former manager Gordon Strachan after just two games of the Russia 2018 qualifying campaign because it was felt he lacked the requisite experience.
There is every chance that McTominay, despite impressing in the holding midfield role for Manchester United in both the Champions League and Premier League this season, will also take some time to establish himself with his country.
Alex McLeish, who wasted no time in securing one of the hottest properties in British football for Scotland after he was appointed manager for a second time last month, has been at pains to stress that fact.
However, speaking for the first time since he was called up for the friendly international double header against Costa Rica and Hungary last week – in an interview which was conducted by the Scottish Football Association media team and posted on their official website and Twitter feed – the man of the moment stressed that it is his goal to play.
“I have to thank the boss for giving me the opportunity to join up with the squad,” said McTominay. “Now I can hopefully show people what I can do. I’m looking to the future and hope to do well.
“I’m an honest player who wants to put every single thing onto the football pitch with some quality passes. I want to drive with the ball and be a success with Scotland in the future if I get the chance.”
Doubts that a player who was born and brought up in Lancashire and operating at such a high level down south would choose to play for Scotland when England manager Gareth Southgate was keen to select him were expressed almost as soon as it emerged he could represent this country.
But McTominay, who is almost certain to be involved against Costa Rica at Hampden on Friday evening, revealed there had never been any doubt in his mind which national team he wanted to play for. “Whenever you speak to the manager it’s great,” he said. “I was so happy he took the time to come down and speak to me first and foremost. He travelled down a hell of a long way to speak to me and I have to thank him for that.
“But the conversation that we had was relatively simple. I wanted to play for Scotland and I always have done since I was a young boy. It was an incredibly proud moment for me when he did call me up. Hopefully I can now kick on and do well.
“My dad is tremendously proud of me, as are the rest of my family as well, as it’s a big honour for me to come here with the Scotland national team. That’s what you work for your whole life, from when you’re a young kid, to hopefully get into the national team, improve and do well.”
Despite his youth and inexperience, McTominay has already been through a great deal in his embryonic career. He spent a long time on the sidelines as a teenager after experiencing a massive growth spurt. He went from 5ft 6in to 6ft 4in in the space of little more than a year. But he believes that has toughened him up and will stand him in good stead in future.
“When I was younger there were a lot of lows,” he said. “I did go through some difficult periods when I was 15 and 16, just through growing and not playing as much football as I wanted.
“But you have to respect what you get given in football and work hard, as I have done to get to where I am at the minute. I just want to keep playing for my club and hopefully get a chance to play for my country and do well.
“I feel like that’s made me stronger mentality for when