Captain Scott shows Ole he can lead Reds
SCOTT McTominay admitted it was a ‘surreal moment’ and an honour when he was told he’d be United’s captain against Watford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed the armband to the midfielder for the FA Cup tie as a much-changed Reds secured a 1-0 victory.
That was thanks to McTominay’s early header and although Harry Maguire came on and took the armband for the second half, the Scot admitted it was a proud moment to captain his boyhood club.
It was the first time he has worn the armband and he produced a captain’s performance, arguably United’s best player, albeit in a low key win.
“When the manager told me it was a surreal moment,” McTominay said. “I’ve been at this club since just I turning five years old, so basically I have 18, 19 years associated with this football club. So for me it’s a huge honour.
“I absolutely love this football club and it’s been my whole life, so a real honour.”
Solskjaer has put plenty of faith in McTominay in his time as United manager and had no qualms in giving the 23-year-old the captaincy.
“He’s got great character,” Solskjaer said. “Good attitude. He comes in every day, does the right things, lives his life properly, wants to be the best he can be, he’s not afraid to be vocal but always goes out there to give his best, never shirks a tackle.
“He’s got everything a leader has to have.
“I just wanted to test him, see how he reacted. I wanted to give him the armband and see if there was any change and I’m glad there wasn’t.”
Former United manager Jose M Mourinho regularly rhapsodized ab about McTominay’s character and, af after a slow start under Solskjaer, th the Scotland international has become a key cog in the United side.
McTominay, Nemanja Matic, Axel Tuanzebe, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and club captain Harry Maguire all received the armband on the Norwe g i a n ’ s watch for the first time and the United manager insists McTominay is a natural leader. And a former captain Rio Ferdinand has backed McTominay to become a mainstay in United’s starting lineup if the midfielder can improve his consistency.
He said: “You can see in the way he conducts himself but, more importantly, the way he plays. “He’s whole-hearted, he takes responsibility in situations and you need all that as a captain.
“You need to be somebody people can look to and think ‘that’s someone I’d like to follow’.
“He seems to have those sorts of traits as a young lad still.
“He’s been at the club since he was five years old, he knows the
I absolutely love this football club and it’s been my whole life, so a real honour Scott McTominay on being captain
fabric of the club and what it means to be at Man United.
“He has the credentials to be a mainstay in this team and a really important member of this team for years to come due to the way he applies himself.
“It’s not all about footballing ability sometimes, there’s more to it.
“A mental capacity to take things on and also the ability to go out there and accept responsibility.
“The man that people look to, to be that inspiration and he seems to be doing that more and more, week on week.”
When asked where McTominay can improve, Ferdinand said it is a case of making sure he continues to put in consistently performances.
He said: “I just think it’s a level of f consistency. As a young player, you u can see glimpses of it but, with him, I think it’s about continuing this.
“He’s in a good vein of form at the moment, he’s almost certainly become one of the main players in that midfield area.
“I think he’s someone Ole could build around in that respect.
“He’s not the one you’d say is the most imaginative or with the most skills but there’s other things he brings to the game that the other players don’t bring, like the intensity, the effort, the work rate and the responsibility he takes on.” impressive
MASON Greenwood started up front for United against Watford but struggled before he was substituted for Anthony Martial in the second half.
The 19-year-old has only mustered three goals all season and Reds coaches see his role as more central, despite thriving from the right for most of last season.
“We had a front four with Dan [James], Juan [Mata], Jesse [Lingard], with Mason in front of him,” explained boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. “With the licence to chop and change a little bit, find positions.
“Mason’s a naturally floaty forward anyway, sometimes when you’re young, staying through the middle is a challenge, and he tried to get a touch on the ball and got wide. I felt he benefited from this game, Mason.”