McTominay back playing with a smile on his face

• Published date: 26 March 2024
• Author: JAMIE JACKSON
• Publication title: Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)

In the subsequent 12 months the 27-year-old scored seven times in eight Euro 2024 qualifiers including both goals in the 2-0 win over Spain at Hampden Park on March 28th. That followed a previous double from McTominay in the 3-0 victory against Cyprus four days earlier, the opening qualifier and first match since Clarke discussed his demeanour

McTominay said: “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. I thought ‘Maybe he’s right.’ I went and spoke to my mum, my dad, my girlfriend at the time and they all pretty much said the same thing.”

At that juncture McTominay’s last Premier League start for United was two months before – a 3-2 loss at Arsenal on January 22nd – with his only two other starts the FA Cup wins over West Ham and Fulham earlier in March.

He said: “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, whatever. Weight off shoulders

“Ever since that, to be fair, I’ve just thought ‘Let’s go for it’. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders. It shows you that by speaking to someone – especially the manager because he’s honest and he’ll tell you up front – it can make a significant difference.

“He said he wanted to see the kid who was happy whenever he first came on the scene and was playing every week. He saw a boy who was smiling all the time. Now I look back and think: ‘Yeah, maybe sometimes the pressure and stuff like that can mount and you don’t realise it can affect you.’

“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.’ It was that I wasn’t playing at that time, so I had pressure on myself to play.

“I don’t like it whenever I’m not playing. It hurts me whenever I’m not playing...