McTominay opens up on captaincy honour

The midfielder was handed the responsibility of wearing the armband in Sunday’s goalless draw against Liverpool, due to the absence of suspended club skipper Bruno Fernandes.

It was only the second time McTominay has captained the team from the start in a game, with the other occasion coming in an FA Cup third-round tie against Watford in January 2021 – which he marked by scoring the only goal of a 1-0 victory.

“It's the biggest honour of my career, to captain this football club once and then twice,” Scott told Sky Sports after the game.

🗣️ "I'm thankful to be in this position"

Scott McTominay says it's the biggest honour of his career to captain Manchester United 🙌🔴 pic.twitter.com/HgnquCtsAo

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 17, 2023

“I've been a young boy here, I know the system and the process to come through. It’s one of the biggest honours of my career. I'm thankful to be in this position and I want to go for more.”

McTominay led United on the pitch to a disciplined team display, as Liverpool were kept at bay at Anfield for the first time this season. 

“I think, for a start, we've got a number of injuries which don't help the squad and obviously the rhythm of playing a regular team and stuff like that,” the midfielder explained.

“But we knew it was going to be tough today coming here, and obviously we had to stay calm and stick together. We had moments in the game where we had chances and we could have hurt them.

“Obviously for us, we were a little bit disappointed that we can't come here and make it more of a game and have more opportunities and more shots on goal. But, as I say, I'm sure the boys will be pleased not to lose the game, but most definitely not happy that we didn’t win.”

The odds were stacked against United coming into the huge Premier League clash on Merseyside, amid a lengthy injury list and our midweek European exit, but Scott felt the players performed admirably to focus on the task in hand.

“It’s been extremely difficult and I think everyone knows that the pressure at this football club is massive,” McTominay said.

“It takes balls to come out and play for this football club relentlessly every single week, with no injuries and no shying away from playing. That's what everyone in that dressing room who was there today wants to do.

“The ones who are injured are desperate to come back and perform and play a part in that, which is the most pleasing thing. But we can build on it.”

The Scotland international also gave credit to Ten Hag and believes there are positives to take from the result at Anfield, heading into the festive period.

“I said in other interviews that we're behind the manager and that's first and foremost,” Scott added. “There’s not really much else to say. We're here to perform for this football club.

“He's a great manager and a great man-manager that can lead us to good things, and I feel like this could be a building block as well.

“[We just want] to take one game at a time and to keep trying to win football games. It's as simple as that. You can't get too carried away with anything in football, because reality can bite you really quick.”