Scott McTominay & Fletch is too Darren close to call
Sbragia reckons Scott is shaping up as captain for club and country like Fletch
Scott McTominay might not have the armband for Manchester United at Anfield today.
But Ricky Sbragia is convinced that it’s only a matter of time before the Scot is captain for club AND country.
Last week, Old Trafford boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made McTominay skipper for the first time against Watford in the FA Cup.
Harry Maguire will take over again today for their top- of- the- table Premier League clash against champions Liverpool.
But Sbragia, who worked with the 24-year- old as a kid at United, insists McTominay is officer material.
He has likened him to former Reds star Darren Fletcher who captained his club under Sir Alex Ferguson as well as the national team.
And Sbragia expects McTominay to follow suit in years to come.
The Scotland ace has been superb for Solskjaer’s United this season, who go into today’s game on Merseyside top of the table.
And Sbragia told MailSport: “Scott reminds me of Darren. He’s got the same attitude, he’s helpful to people and time is nothing to him.
“He’s an intelligent boy who does all his own work.
“It’s not as if he got to the United first team and thought: ‘ That’s it, I’ve made it.’
“He’s kept on working at it and you couldn’t meet a nicer boy.
“In my mind, there’s no doubt that he can be another Fletcher.
“It’s not a shock to me what he’s doing now. It’s just been gradual and everything is falling into place with him.
“Man United are now a better team with McTominay in it. I can see him, like Darren, being there for many years and winning trophies for United.
“He’ll be disappointed at times when he doesn’t play – but he never shows it. He just gets on with it.
“Scott just wants to make himself better and he can do what Fletcher did at Old Trafford.
“Scott won’t want to leave Manchester United, he’ll stay on. And if he emulates the career that Darren had he will be doing OK.
“Fletcher had everything as a player – he was exceptional.
“But the great thing about Darren – and it’s the same with Scott – is that he’s so approachable.
“If people come into the club, he makes himsel f available and speaks to them.
“Scott would regularly come in and speak to the reserve team I had. And he was always immaculate.
“Everything was right about him.
“I think he’s captain material for United and Scot land in the future because he leads by example. And he’s probably got the belief now that he can impact games by getting into the box and scoring goals.”
McTominay is now one of the most physically powerful midfielders in the Premier League.
Yet when Sbragia was first made aware of him at United, he was TINY. The club knew that the youngster would have a growth spurt as a teenager and were prepared to let him develop.
Sbra g ia revea led that McTominay wouldn’t train or play for weeks at a time as he exper ienced growing pains.
But Un i t e d ’ s perseverance and the player’s determination have paid off, with the Lancaster-born Scot now a key figure at Old Trafford and with the Scotland squad.
Former SFA coach Sbragia said: “United were so patient with Scott. They knew roughly where he’d eventually get to in terms of his height.
“They did tests and had a rough idea of how he would grow. They were so protective of his development.
“There were times when he didn’t train for days, didn’t play any games.
“If you speak to Scott, he’ll tell you that he didn’t play a lot of youth games. “When the growth spurt came, it happened so quickly. And they were
Isee
Darr Scott , like en,
Unit ed bein gat and for winn year s trop ing hies
concerned about his joints. At first, he was the smallest boy you’ve ever seen.
“Scott looked like a nine-year- old when he was 12. But United persevered with him. They gave him the time, which was a great thing.
“He came to a Scotland training camp with our Under-17s at Stirling once. We could train him in the morning but not in the afternoon. He had special stuff to do on his own.
“Then the next day, he couldn’t train in the morning but could in the afternoon.
“He was getting growing pains but United knew where he could get to physically, which is where he is now.
“They were determined not to rush him, they knew there was plenty of development to come.
“United didn’t want him to break down or have any problems.
“They were careful with Scott. In the space of that year, they would just tell him that he probably wouldn’t play for the next three or four Saturdays.
“When they did play him, it was maybe for 10 or 15 minutes as a sub.
“They were really patient. With most clubs who had a boy like Scott, they’d have probably got rid of him at 18 or 19, believing that he wasn’t developing.
“But they knew exactly where he was going.”
That was straight into United’s firstteam where he’s now holding his own alongside the likes of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
Against Leeds last month, he bombed forward to score two goals in the first f i v e minut e s , prompting
Gary Neville to compare him to
Paul Scholes and
Roy Keane, while
McTominay also netted the only goal in United’s 1-0 cup win over Watford this month.
Sbragia wasn’t surprised to see another side to his game. He said: “He’s always had that in him.
“He’s been pigeonholed a bit as a defensive midfielder but he can do both really well.
“If you have to play
Scott deep, he doesn’t have a problem with it – he’ll let other players play. But he can track, he has always been box-to-box.
“Now, he’s stronger, fitter and he’s playing at the level he wants on a regular basis. He’s brave, he’s got energy, he’s quick, good in the air – he’s got everything you want in a modern player.”