Scott McTominay says the 6-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur is difficult for him and his team-mates to take.
The Scotland midfielder played 45 minutes as Spurs ran riot at Old Trafford, scoring six times in reply to Bruno Fernandes's second-minute penalty - four of them arriving after a red card for Anthony Martial.
In an honest interview with MUTV's Stewart Gardner after the final whistle, Scott said the players will be hurting and must take responsibility going forward. You can read his full thoughts in the Q&A below...
Scott, the fans are hurting after that, how are the players feeling?
“It’s difficult, so difficult to take. The atmosphere in the dressing room… it’s not easy at all. The pressure at this football club to play at the highest level every single week is big so if you want to take that responsibility on you have to take that one and play at the highest level on the pitch every single minute, every single second. You have to train like it’s your last training session and for us the goals we conceded were nowhere near good enough from what I saw. It’s difficult to take.”
And yet you couldn’t have made a better start, with the penalty after 30 seconds?
“Yeah, that’s football again. You get these shock results that come around, hopefully never again in your career. Everybody in that dressing room I can assure you is very, very hurt and we know it’s not about speaking to people and listening to what other people say. It’s about focusing on ourselves. This football club is absolutely massive and for us to play and perform like that is nowhere near good enough. Believe me something will be done about that when we get back. Everyone will be firmly focused on what we have to do going into the remaining part of the first stage of the season.”
Does that mean on the training ground, can it be sorted out, if you like?
“We have to be so dialled into everything we do. The Premier League is so strong now, you see that, and for us, a result like that it hurts massively. That’s the first time I’ve been on the end of a result like that and believe me, inside, it’s the worst feeling I’ve ever had. That’s football. You have to accept it, you have to move on, keep your chest up and don’t duck out the way of responsibility on the pitch. You have to take the responsibility front on and try and move forward.”
It’s the international break now. Do you wish the next game was Tuesday or Wednesday as opposed to two weeks’ time?
“The next game can come whenever it comes. We have to be so dialled in and focused on our roles and responsibilities as a football club. We’ll take it from there but I can assure you there will be a big reaction from the manager, the players and the staff as well.
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