United briefing: Ole keen to unleash McTominay

Our 24-year-old Scotland international lashed in the Reds’ FA Cup fifth-round winner in extra-time to beat West Ham United 1-0 at Old Trafford and secure a place in the last eight of the Emirates FA Cup.

McTominay was a late second-half substitute against the Hammers and broke the deadlock in the 97th minute of the tie.

The boss had lamented in one post-match interview that United were sometimes too “sidefooty” with our attempts to find the net. But McTominay continued his recent fine form to bring a lethal, clean finishing quality to win the match.

It was his seventh of the season and his third in the last seven days, having scored against Southampton and Everton in the Premier League. Overall, it's already a personal-best campaign in terms of goals for the homegrown talent.

Former Under-21s coach Warren Joyce played Scott in attack to help develop his game and those minutes as a centre-forward are something Solskjaer believes can be of real benefit.

“Scott’s a clinical striker of the ball. He used to play as a striker, we know that, and he finishes with authority,” said Ole, in an exclusive interview with MUTV's Stewart Gardner.

“Like, 'bang', finish. No messing about. No safety. That’s something we've got to learn from.

“For a defensive midfielder, we’ll have to unleash him and release him forward because he’s a goal threat in the box and he's got a good strike on him.”

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY?

We'll be running some of the best bits, including Scott's winner, from midday when the embargo is lifted for the FA Cup highlights. Look out for the Match Quiz and Tunnel Insider as well.

While United's players can enjoy a well-earned rest after the 120 minutes of action, we'll be keeping an eye to see which teams follow us into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Swansea City face Manchester City at 17:30 GMT, Leicester City meet Brighton & Hove Albion, Sheffield United face Bristol City and, at 20:15 GMT, there is a big one at Goodison Park between Everton and Tottenham.

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY?

United progressed to the last eight of the FA Cup, thanks to McTominay's extra-time goal. Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial made their 250th appearance for the club, while Amad was on the bench for the first time, even though he did not see any of the action.

Earlier in the day, we discovered that our Europa League away tie against Real Sociedad will now be played in Turin due to COVID-19 restrictions.