One of the greatest compliments that can be paid to any team – at any level – is that the legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would have been proud of the way they went about their business.
The iconic Scot did not win 13 Premier League titles by being passive. His Manchester United side, no matter the opposition, almost always went into every game looking to win it, spending less time worrying about the strengths of their rivals and more focusing on what they themselves can bring to the table.
Gordon Strachan knows that better than most, having played under Ferguson both for Aberdeen and at Man United.
And, after watching Scott McTominay fire his beloved Scotland into the lead in their Euro 2024 matchday two clash with Switzerland on Wednesday, Strachan believes Steve Clarke’s team produced a display straight out of Fergie’s playbook, with the Carrington graduate a fitting goalscorer on the night.
Manchester United’s Scott McTominay nets at Euro 2024
“They all sent out a signal right from the start against Switzerland,” Strachan tells the Scottish Sun, McTominay opening the scoring after 13 minutes as the Tartan Army flew out of the blocks.
“There were a couple of occasions early on where I thought to myself; ‘That’s it, they have got it’. Scott McTominay put pressure on a Swiss midfielder and the ball went back to the centre-half.
“Against Germany (during Friday’s disastrous 5-1 defeat), he would have just stayed in his shape and been cautious. This time, McTominay chased after the centre-half and put him under pressure too. He wasn’t worried about the consequences of stepping out of his position.
“McTominay’s first thought was; ‘I am going to put this defender under pressure and see how good he is’. That summed up Scotland’s approach on the night.”
McTominay, who’s performance was labelled ‘exceptional’ by BBC pundit and former England goalkeeper Joe Hart at full-time, has now scored 19 goals for club and country since that famous brace against Spain in March 2023.
His penchant for big goals at big moments, meanwhile, means few would be surprised if it was McTominay who fired Scotland past Hungary in Sunday’s make-or-break final group-stage fixture.
Four points should be enough to secure knock-out stage football.
Scotland can secure knockout stage football
“Sir Alex Ferguson always used to say that to us when we played European games at Aberdeen,” adds Strachan, who coached Scotland between 2013 and 2017. “His message would be, ‘Find out how good they are first. And if they are THAT good, we have another plan’.
“One of the best examples I have seen of that recently was Atalanta playing Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last season. Their approach was basically, ‘We know you can pass it about, but can you pass it when we go one-on-one against you?’.
“Bayer Leverkusen were spooked, and we found out that their defenders weren’t actually that good at passing it under that kind of pressure (during that 3-0 defeat).
“Scotland also got on top of Switzerland’s best players.”
Clarke’s team exited the delayed Euro 2020 with a whimper, a dull draw with England the only respite. Beat Hungary, however, and Scotland may find a way out of the group stage at a European Championships for the very first time.
And who would bet against McTominay being the man who takes them there?
“I really liked his performance,” Hart said, McTominay adding another ‘clutch goal’ to his growing collection. “I thought he was excellent. A real threat. When I hear that his club (Manchester United) have scored a late goal, a clutch goal, it’s often him.
“I thought he was exceptional on the ball and someone the team looked to to drive the team forward.”