McTominay defends Man Utd needing ‘a kick up the bum’

Scott McTominay has defended Manchester United needing “a kick up the bum” occasionally, with the Scotland international eager to point out that falling behind in games is not always a sign of playing badly.

The Red Devils have made a habit of conceding first in Premier League fixtures this season, particularly away from home.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have, however, found a way of getting the job done on their travels, with maximum points taken from five games so far.

United have trailed in all of those, setting a new top-flight comeback record along the way, and are showing that they have the stomach for a fight in what is shaping up to be an intriguing 2020-21 campaign.

McTominay believes there are plenty of positives for the Red Devils to take from their efforts so far, with there every reason to believe that challenges for major honours can be staged this term.

He told the club’s official website heading into a meeting with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Thursday: “The [away] record’s brilliant. As I say, we’ve spoke about it as a group. We can’t keep falling behind in games and as you see in Leipzig [a 3-2 Champions League defeat], you can just give yourself too much to do. That was something we have to forget about quickly.

“That’s the good thing about football, it moves on so quickly, but you can still tell that everyone is wanting to get back to that stage where we need to prove we should be really competing this year. We know that and we’ve had multiple chats as a group.

“We have been playing well and people might think because you go a goal down, you’re not playing well.

“We’ve started some games poorly, but some we’ve started really well and still gone a goal down. Don’t take it as if you go 1-0 down, you’re playing badly. I feel like people jump to that conclusion straightaway.

“As I say, [at] Everton we controlled the whole game, from minute one to minute 90, but people see you’ve gone a goal down so they think you’re playing badly. As long as we know as a group what we’re doing well and when we need a kick up the bum, we’re on the right track.”

United’s next journey out on the road could be a notable one for McTominay, with the 24-year-old – who made his debut back in May 2017 - set to take in his 100th appearance for the club if he figures against the Blades.

He added on reaching a century: “Yeah, the time’s gone quick, you know? Obviously you get to that landmark a little bit quicker without injuries. I was out for three months with my knee and eight weeks with my ankle [last season] so that delays the time for getting appearances.

“One of my friends is a Sheffield United fan and he speaks to me regularly about the passion and the love for the football club. Obviously for them, the fans are a big miss and everything that goes on with the fans on a matchday is a big miss, but Sheffield United are a very, very good team and they’ve had some really difficult results.

“It’s a game we have to respect and we can’t take our foot off the gas because they’ve had a difficult start to a different, challenging Premier League season. They’ll be coming at us at 100 miles an hour, and we have to be ready.”