McTOMINAY’S JOY AS UNITED FIRE BACK AT CRITICS
THE crushing defeat at Brentford left scars on Manchester United but figured prominently as Erik ten Hag appraised his side’s victory at Southampton. Lessons learned was the manager’s theme as he reflected on a muchimproved mentality. Encouragingly for United, the Dutchman’s players performed with sleeves rolled up, ready for a hard shift at St Mary’s. ‘The Brentford game was a big reality check,’ said midfielder Scott McTominay. ‘It takes a lot to come back from that as a team, with all the criticism every player gets.’ No one received more after the 4-0 mauling at Brentford than Lisandro Martinez, swiftly written off as simply not big enough to play in central defence. Others will look to isolate and dominate him as Brentford forward Ivan Toney did to such great effect, although what Martinez lacks in height he makes up for in aggression, tenacity and defensive acumen. Under close scrutiny, United’s defensive unit had passed this test. Raphael Varane and McTominay were strong in the air, appreciative of the need to support Martinez. The full-backs operated with good sense and Diogo Dalot was an attacking threat on the right. Lessons learned, indeed. Evidence of United players playing for each other once more, united again. ‘We can’t have any dips,’ said McTominay. ‘We needed to bounce back. We needed that fire inside. As soon as that fire goes out, we are in trouble. We have to keep that fire together.’ Saints peppered David de Gea’s goal with 17 shots over 90 minutes and thought they deserved a penalty for handball against McTominay as he contested a bouncing ball with Che Adams. ‘Not once, three times,’ said boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, astonished as the ball had hit McTominay on one arm, rolled across his chest and struck his other arm. Unsurprisingly, the Scotland midfielder saw it differently. ‘No way was it a penalty,’ said McTominay. ‘I spoke to Che and we were ducking and diving and no, it was not a penalty.’ Ultimately, the game was decided by a stylish Bruno Fernandes volley, swept in from 18 yards early in the second half to the relief of Ten Hag, who admits he is still learning about the Premier League. ‘That’s the challenge,’ he said. ‘You have to adapt and find a way to win games.’