McTominay: I would have broke down

“I would have broke down,” McTominay explains in Lifeblood: Innovation, the second behind-the-scenes film on our world-famous youth set-up.

“It was a tough time – two or three years where I didn’t kick a ball. My groins, when I got to 15, I could not pass a ball sideways because I was in too much pain. I’d go home and say to my dad: ‘What’s happening here?’”

In Lifeblood: Innovation, McTominay returns to the Academy building at Carrington to catch up with his old coach, Neil Harris, and discuss his experience of growth and maturation with Alex Ouzounoglou, who leads the Athletic Development team for U12s to U16s.

“I used to have to proper fight, didn’t I?” McTominay remembers.

“It wasn’t easy. You’ve got lads who are fully grown men at 13 or 14, potentially. That’s how quick it can be. And I was a proper kid. But I always fancied myself to be one of the best in training sessions and in games, that was my motivation at the time.

“My dad put very little pressure on me to play for Man United. He just said you enjoy it, you have a good time, I’ll take you three or four times a week, no problem – my time is your time.

“There’s no right or wrong way. You see Wayne Rooney or Michael Owen were playing in the Premier League at 16 or 17, but their bodies take a lot more later down the line. I started at 19 or 20, so my career could go longer. I could play until I’m 37 or 38, subject to injury.”

United have long since adopted a caring approach to players undergoing more extreme growth periods – McTominay says “you get so much reassurance from the club” – but things have moved on further from Scott’s time, too. Innovation, as Director of Academy Nick Cox explains, is about “never settling, never thinking that you’ve cracked it, being open-minded, regularly scanning to see what is out there, what’s going on in terms of research or development in equipment. It’s about a commitment to ongoing learning, for players and coaches, with that open mind to know that you’re on a journey of improvement to develop ourselves as well.”

So Scott learns from the current Academy staff about the additional resources and programmes which have been put in place to help those going through something similar to him. In fact, he looks at the data of one player currently in the Under-18s, learning about the education for parents, the psychological help on offer to players and the increased collaboration between Athletic Development staff and coaches to ensure the best experience for each player.

“It’s good for the parents and the boy who’s got trust [in the data],” Scott reviews.

“He knows and sees the numbers there and can understand the reasons why you’re putting things in place for him. What you don’t want to do is put them into high-intensity training [and then] he ends up getting injured [so] his mental state isn’t at his best.

“A lot of parents are – as every father and mother are – they’re always super invested in how their child is getting on, but sometimes you have to leave things to the experts. They’ve seen every case multiple times over and they know how to manage situations like that.

“The Academy put everything in place for you, they educate you how a Man United player and person operates, the things that they do on and off the pitch, but it comes down to the individual, it comes down to how much they want to be a football player. Because if that drives not there, you can forget about it. If they’ve not got that inner fight to do it, it’s pretty difficult to go anywhere. There are so many kids across the world, it takes more than people think."

These were the processes that led to that magic Manchester derby lob under sheets of Mancunian rain or a quick-fire brace in a thrashing of Leeds United or last season’s unprecedented injury-time double to come from behind against Brentford.

To see how it works and hear more fascinating insights from Scott, watch Lifeblood: Innovation, which premieres with a live stream on MUTV, ManUtd.com and the United App at 19:00 BST this Friday (5 July). It will also be available to view on demand from that time.