Manchester United star Scott McTominay has laughed off claims that he has been bullying academy star Alejandro Garnacho.
Garnacho has burst onto the scene this season, memorably scoring the winner as United beat Fulham in their last game before the World Cup break. He has been around the senior squad for much of the season, regularly participating in training.
During one of those sessions in November, ahead of a Europa League clash against Real Sociedad, McTominay came under fire for appearing to target Garnacho. As some of the players were stretching off, the Scot grabbed Garnacho's hat and kicked it down the pitch.
The footage subsequently went viral and was shown on Sky Sports News, with some criticising McTominay. But the midfielder has now laughed off those accusations of bullying and hailed the winger instead.
“I had a lot of people saying that was bullying! That was just a bit of a joke. But he needs to keep his feet on the ground and keep working hard and he can be one hell of a footballer,” he told The Athletic.
“I’ve never been interested in, if things are going wrong — and I’m not saying I’ve had that here, but I have experienced it over my time in football, when I was a kid — speaking behind people’s backs if you don’t win. That is just a disaster.
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“You need players in the group who are straight-talking, say things to people’s faces, and if they like it they like it, if they don’t they’ll get over it next week. I feel like we have a really good group for that, especially with the lads who are playing every week."
Garnacho and McTominay were both part of the squad which travelled to Spain for a training camp during the World Cup. And McTominay believes bringing youngsters through is key for United's future success.
"We must've had 15 of the so-called younger boys come away with us. And it's good to get them integrated into the team. The ones who stood out is pretty much all of them," he told a fans' press conference earlier this week.
"It's not easy coming into a first-team group where you've got to train so well, but we've got so many good players in the first team who can help them and stuff like that. I feel like now, when they go away to Spain, they come back and train with us here, they feel so much more comfortable.
"We had some great times in Spain. We had them all singing in the group and they loved it. That's part and parcel of getting integrated into the first team. I had to do it. Everyone has to do that, and it helps them. It brings them out of their shell and gives them more confidence when they come and train with us."
