Scotland's Super Mario and social butterfly who emerged from Man Utd cocoon
Scott McTominay discusses mentality, determination, and resilience—qualities he believes some players possess and others do not.
He asserts that the refusal to give up is something he has had since childhood and is a trait shared by every member of the Scotland squad.
"Not willing to stop when it gets tough, it's one of the most important things in football,"
he tells , before referencing a figure who epitomized this relentless spirit—Michael Jordan, the NBA legend.
"He once said that whenever somebody arrives to the stadium they could be watching for the first time. So if you're not giving your absolute best a young fan could be walking away going 'he wasn't that great'."
McTominay mentions how he has been embodying that ethos in training, acting as both mentor and disciplinarian for younger players like teenagers Tyler Fletcher and Findlay Curtis.
"I'm demanding and quite hard on some of them,"
he says.
"The right way to live your life off the pitch is probably more important than what you do on the pitch because you can kill your whole career by things that you do off the pitch.
They need a little bit of tough love sometimes, young players. I had that. There was a lot of senior pros saying, 'Listen, you've got to up your game or you've got no chance. I don't want to name names. It was a lot. Behind closed doors.
And the things that get said are ruthless - sink or swim."
'Jose dressed me down... I thought it was over'
McTominay grew up in a challenging environment, joining Manchester United's development system at age five.
He left his home in Lancaster early to join the club's residency programme, an emotional challenge for a boy who had largely remained unnoticed during his early years.
He was not a prodigy or a guaranteed success.
In his first under-18 season, he played less than two hours of competitive football. At 16, he was only 5ft 6in tall and described himself as a "silky number 10." In his debut under-21 season, he started only two of 22 matches.
His growth spurt transformed him from a small attacker to a formidable 6ft 4in presence, with his confidence growing alongside his height.
The tough love he now advocates began around this time. He recounts a day training with the senior team when he argued over decisions favoring the "old lads" against the "young lads."
Jose Mourinho, then his manager and later his champion, intervened.
"Jose phoned me because I was arguing with Michael Carrick and Ashley Young,"
McTominay recalled.
"There were a couple of swear words in there. He dressed me down. It was like 'who do you think you are, you've done nothing'. I thought it was over [at United] before it started, how forceful he was."
It was not over but just beginning. McTominay made his senior debut in May 2017.
"This kid has everything I want,"
said Mourinho.
The following season, Mourinho created a new award at the end-of-season ceremony, naming McTominay the manager's player of the season.
"He started the season in the academy and ended it playing big games in the Premier League,"
the Portuguese manager said.
"I thought this kid cannot go home without an award."
By then, McTominay was a Scotland international, capped in March 2018 against Costa Rica.
There was a brief overlap between Steven Naismith's international exit and McTominay's emergence, with Steve Clarke, now assistant manager, recalling the young player's early days.
"He kept himself to himself,"
Clarke said.
"At the start I thought, is that because he was born in England and it's his grandparents who are Scottish? He's maybe just a wee bit unsure of the Scottishness, the bluntness of Scottish people? But over the years, he just matured."
'One of the best midfielders in Europe'
McTominay's career coincided with a turbulent period at Manchester United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer succeeded Mourinho and valued the young player, giving him increasing game time—22, then 37, then 49 appearances.
Solskjaer described him as a "physical monster" with an exceptional engine, even when the team struggled.
Ralf Rangnick, who followed Solskjaer, spoke of McTominay as a future captain.
However, Old Trafford was in turmoil, and when fans turned on players, McTominay, a local boy and lifelong supporter, was among the first targeted.
Playing in a deeper role rather than as a box-to-box midfielder, he faced harsh criticism. The tough love was sometimes severe.
Erik ten Hag replaced Rangnick, praising McTominay's fighting spirit while simultaneously recruiting several players in his position.
Despite interest from West Ham for £30m, Newcastle, Fulham, and Bayern Munich, McTominay remained at United.
In October 2023, with United trailing 1-0 at home to Brentford, McTominay came off the bench with 10 minutes remaining and scored twice in added time to secure victory.
"Never give up, man,"
he said after the match, expressing both frustration and determination.
"You never give up. No matter the situation you never give up, never throw the towel in."
It is said that McTominay did not give up on United, but the club gave up on him amid financial pressures and the need to sell players to fund new signings.
He transferred to Napoli, prompting criticism from former United managers.
"I'm almost shocked,"
said Solskjaer.
"This decision is beyond me."
Mourinho later called McTominay "one of the best midfielders in Europe."
"When I think of Scotland, I think of my boy Scott McTominay,"
he said.
"I got him when he was 18, when nobody at Man Utd believed he could be the player he is."
'It's like in Super Mario when you get a mushroom...'
McTominay's time at Napoli, including winning the Serie A title in 2024-25, has elevated him to superstar status both in Naples and internationally.
He is the leading figure of the Scotland team, celebrated with a large mural near Hampden and featured on a banknote following his mid-bicycle kick against Denmark in November.
For club and country, he has scored 13, 16, and 17 goals in the last three seasons, contributing to Napoli's title and Scotland's World Cup qualification.
With 70 caps, McTominay has played multiple roles—right-sided centre-back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder—and is now settled in his preferred position.
Naismith has observed his growth into a player of significant presence on and off the pitch.
"He can glide across the pitch with elegance. He's such an athlete,"
he said.
"And see his passing - it's as if you're in a computer game. It's like in Super Mario where you get a mushroom and you're bigger, if that makes sense. He's just more powerful than everybody else.
The last part is you just hope he's not an arsehole - and he's not. He'll hang about with the youngest players in the squad at dinner and he'll chat away to them.
And then the next day he could be sitting with [John] McGinn and Robbo [Andy Robertson] and Kenny McLean and Grant [Hanley] and be part of that.
And then he might just be by himself for a bit. He's a social butterfly and it's all pure happiness for him."
Achieving this happiness has required considerable effort from McTominay. The nation hopes he remains upbeat following Scotland's opening World Cup match against Haiti, marking their first finals appearance since the midfield star was a child.
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