As Erik ten Hag will attest, if you want to get the best out a man who continues to divide the Manchester United supporters, the only real way to do so is to play to his strengths.
He is certainly not the most technically gifted footballer in the Red Devils’ ranks. He’s played in a variety of roles over the years too without ever truly convincing in any of them.
But give him the freedom to break into the penalty area, with a stable midfield base behind him and a centre-forward capable of dragging centre-halves out of position, then Scott McTominay can box-crash with the best of them.
Scorer of 18 goals for Manchester United and Scotland since that famous brace against Spain in March 2023, if Steve Clarke’s side are to have any chance of extending their Euros campaign beyond the current week then McTominay simply must come to the fore.
The Carrington graduate was almost entirely ineffective during Scotland’s humiliating 5-1 defeat by Germany in Friday’s curtain raiser. Only 37 touches, 17 passes, and not even a single shot on goal (WhoScored).
For Kris Boyd, the former Tartan Army striker, there is a rather simple solution to Clarke’s McTominay problem. Introduce Brighton and Hove Albion’s Billy Gilmour at the heart of midfield, push McTominay furhter up the park and into the position where he wreaked havoc for Erik ten Hag‘s Man United side, and the Scots will at least pose some semblance of a threat against Switzerland on Wednesday.
Scott McTominay facing Euro 2024 exit already
“I wonder if Clarke does now have regrets about not starting (Gilmour) against Germany,” Boyd writes in his Scottish Sun column.
“The little Brighton midfielder is as brave as they come at taking the ball under pressure and using it well.”
In comparison to McTominay, who struggled when camped in almost on the edge of his penalty area against a dominant Germany side, Gilmour is at home when permitted to dictate the game from that ‘number six’ spot.
To make a Man United comparison, perhaps Gilmour could perform a Kobbie Mainoo sort of role for Scotland, thus freeing up McTominay to make the sort of lung-busting driving runs that made him one of Ten Hag’s most consistent attacking threats.
“Gilmour would have helped (Celtic captain) Callum McGregor, who looked completely out of sorts in midfield. The same goes for Scott McTominay, who was off the pace playing in that deeper role,” adds Boyd.
“Clarke probably felt (AFC Bournemouth’s Ryan) Christie could offer more than Gilmour in the final third, but it just didn’t work. Against the Swiss, I’d revert to McGregor and Gilmour as the deep midfielders, with McTominay and John McGinn ahead of them.”
Manchester United ace faces Switzerland on Wednedsay
Scotland exited Euro 2020 with a whimper. And, should they suffer another demoralising afternoon against a Switzerland who confidently dispatched Hungary in matchday one, then history will be repeating itself.
“We watched the Germany game,” says Switzerland ace Granit Xhaka, full of confidence after winning the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal with Bayer Leverkusen. “We were surprised by the performance of Scotland.
“We have achieved our first target of three points and now we need to prepare for Wednesday. We know the quality that Scotland have. Big players who play for big teams.,” adds the former Arsenal ace, echoing Germany’s Ilkay Gundogan and highlighting the strength in the Scottish ranks.
“But we know the first match is always special, especially for Germany in Munich. I hope we’ll see a good game on Wednesday. We deserved our three points (vs Hungary). I’m very proud that we won – we had a very good first half.
“It’s always good to start with confidence against a good opponent but we are not finished yet. Recovery now, and on to the next one on Wednesday.”
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