Scott sets sights on more goals

The 27-year-old is tied alongside Rasmus Hojlund and Bruno Fernandes as our top scorer in all competition so far this term, with six goals to his name, all but one of which have come in top-flight action.

The midfielder hit a brace in our penultimate Premier League home game of 2023, as we overcame Chelsea with a 2-1 win, but wants to do more from the chances supplied to him by his team-mates.

Scott cited our last game against Wigan Athletic as an example – where the Reds were comfortable winners on the night, but could have emerged with a more comprehensive scoreline in our favour.

“You just have to see the ball coming into the box and you have to try and arrive there – like the other night against Wigan,” Scott said in an ICS interview.

“I could have had two or three goals and you're still kicking yourself now that you've not. It's a wasted opportunity because I look at those chances and think, ‘I've got to score at least two of them.’

“That's just the way football is, you have to take your moments. Thankfully, I've been able to do that in certain games, but I still can do much, much better.

“With the chances that you get, and Bruno [Fernandes] and Christian [Eriksen] and players like that, Marcus [Rashford], [Alejandro] Garnacho delivering top-quality balls into the box – yeah, I've got to do a little bit more as a midfielder.”

The Reds’ first league test of the calendar year comes against Tottenham Hotspur, with Ange Postecoglou’s team travelling to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon (16:30 GMT kick-off), for what McTominay believes will be an intriguing contest.

“[They are] a good team who are well-organised and play a little bit different to maybe some other teams in the league, and it's a little bit more unorthodox with a high line,” Scott continued.

“It’s going to be an exciting game and you see a similar scenario against Aston Villa whenever they played in such a high line.

“The game can be quite open and it's up to us to close it, but also to be consistent in the way that we approach it by moving the ball and trying to dictate the game as much as possible.”

The Scotland international is hoping we can gain a positive result ahead of a break from action next weekend, before we return in the FA Cup fourth round – against either Eastleigh or Newport County – in a fortnight’s time.

“I feel like Tottenham are a really, really good team,” added our no.39.

“They had a really strong start to the season and they're going to be coming in full strength. They want to beat us on our own patch and we need to be there and ready to not let that happen.

“They're posing a different challenge this season to what they have done [in] previous seasons.

“It's a game that we're really looking forward to, especially before a break, which can almost cement a good building block.

“If we do well, we perform and we do everything that we [need to] stick to the game plan, then it can set us up [well] when we get back from a small break.”