Scotland's Scott McTominay reveals Steve Clarke suggestion during Man Utd struggles - 'I thought, maybe he is right'

A year ago, midfielder was not in a great place – but now McTominay is shining for club and country

It might seem rich for Steve Clarke to tell anyone to start smiling. The Scotland manager is often portrayed as something of a grump and while it amuses him to preserve that image, there might be some truth in it too.

Nevertheless, he is alert to the need for others to radiate joy. It is almost a prerequisite for playing football. It's why he made this demand of Scott McTominay after the Manchester United midfielder found himself in a bit of a funk this time last year.

It is considerable understatement to state that Clarke’s suggestion has done the trick. At the time, McTominay was at a bit of a career crossroads. He hadn’t started a league game for his club since a 3-2 defeat against Arsenal near the end of January. He had scored just two goals in his previous 56 appearances for club and county - indeed, he had just one goal to his name for Scotland after 38 caps. Some even questioned whether it was worth persisting with someone who had failed to nail down a position after such a long time.

Scotland's Scott McTominay is presented with the International player of the year as voted by the Scottish Football Writers Association.

Meanwhile, causing him further distress was the lingering shame of being involved in United’s 7-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, the Old Trafford’s club's equal worst-ever defeat, just a couple of weeks earlier. No wonder McTominay wasn’t full of the joys when he joined up with the international squad for the opening Euro 2024 qualifying double header against Cyprus and Spain, Scotland’s first competitive games in six months.

Things were still looking slightly gloomy after 80 odd minutes against Temuri Ketsbaia's visitors. McTominay wasn’t even selected to start the game. There had been some debate over where his best position actually was for Scotland – defence, holding midfielder or further forward. He now feels in a strong enough position to air his preference. “Deep down I knew that I wanted to be in the box and I wanted to be using my legs and my power to get through midfield and get in the box and score,” he says. “But you can never sulk.”

He stressed that he owed it to Clarke to play wherever he was needed. Although a Manchester United player, there was no Billy Big-Time tantrum. “I never had to go and knock on his door and say: ‘What is happening here? I want to play here,’” he explained. Clarke knew where he wanted to play in any case. It was less inspiration and more a case of ‘we could do with another goal here’ when the manager sent McTominay on for Stuart Armstrong against Cyprus after 67 minutes.

Although Scotland led 1-0 at the time it was getting nervy in front of a capacity crowd. Cyprus were not out of it, and the loss of two points - or even three – was not to be borne in an opening home game. McTominay stepped up to score not once but twice in the final stages. He was smiling now. It instantly tripled his goal tally for Scotland. Better still, it sparked a glut of goals, including that famous double 12 months ago on Thursday against Spain. “That was the camp where the manager and I sat down and he said that I didn’t look happy, that I didn’t look like I was smiling about the place,” McTominay explains. “I thought: ‘Maybe he’s right.’ I went and spoke to my mum, my dad, my girlfriend at the time … they all pretty much said the same thing.

McTominay is back enjoying his football again - but it wasn't always like this.

“Sometimes, you just need to enjoy football and play with a smile on your face and take it easy. Not everything’s the end of the world if you’re not playing so well and you’re not in the team, or whatever. Ever since that, I’ve just thought: ‘Let’s go for it’.”

There’s no arguing he went for it. He described the advice from his manager as having lifted a weight from his shoulders. One may wonder why it was left to Clarke to impart this wisdom, rather than his club manager for example. But United have reaped the benefit as well as Scotland.

McTominay is already on nine goals for Erik ten Hag’s side this season, including the opener in the epic FA Cup win over Liverpool on his last outing, which was ample revenge for last season’s thrashing. “Maybe sometimes the pressure and stuff like that can mount and you don’t realise it can affect you," he reflects. "You just need to take a step back and say: ‘Listen, let’s just play football how it was as a kid and enjoy it.'”

Restored to the starting line-up against Spain, he succeeded in doing this and more. He encouraged many to fall in love with football all over again, to remember how it felt when Kenny Dalglish scored against the same team in 1984 on a similarly historic night at Hampden. How does it feel to know this feat will still be talked about in several decades’ time?

McTominay celebrates his recent goal for Man Utd against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

“We want more of them,” says McTominay. “We can’t just settle for ‘Oh I want another night in five years’ time to be spoken about in ten years’ (time)'. That means you have pretty much run your race in terms of your favourite night for Scotland. No, I want more of them. It doesn’t bother me too much looking back on goals. It’s always about the next one and the next one.”

It feels as if he’s due to deliver one – it’s been a couple of games since he last scored after all. He knows he should have found the net with a header against the Netherlands in Friday’s 4-0 defeat. He has the chance to hit number nine and perhaps even reach double figures against Northern Ireland this evening. McTominay has his sights fixed on even greater things, such as being part of the first Scotland team to reach the second stage of a major finals this summer.

“There’s a big chance,” he said. “Big chance. There is the potential to be one of the most successful Scottish teams in history. That should be at the front of every player’s mind.”

McTominay spoke as he was named as the William Hill Scottish Football Writers’ Association Men's International Player of the Year.