Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay has admitted that he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski and be performing to a similar standard by the time he reaches his age.
McTominay has made the admission head of Scotland facing Poland at Hampden Park in an international friendly on Thursday evening. The Scots were scheduled to face Ukraine in a World Cup play-off semi-final but the game was recently postponed amid Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine.
Instead, Scotland will lock horns with Lewandowski and his Poland teammates, with the contest set to offer manager Steve Clarke a further opportunity to assess his squad ahead of the rearranged clash with Ukraine. FIFA are reportedly hopeful that the contest will be staged in June.
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Although the clash with the Poles will have no competitive edge to it, McTominay will look to use it to impress Clarke and try and put on a show for United interim boss Ralf Rangnick, in a bid to retain his place in the team at Old Trafford. As well as that, the 25-year-old will also use the opportunity to keep a close eye on Poland star Lewandowski and to try and gather information on how he can perform to the striker's standards by the time he reaches his current age of 33.
"I've never played against him properly before," McTominay said, as quoted by the Glasgow Times. "I think it was pre-season against Bayern Munich away from home, Jose Mourinho was the manager.
"But obviously, his goal record speaks for itself. He's a phenomenal footballer.
"The way he looks after his body, it's something I aspire to be like when I'm a bit older. You get what you put into football.
"He obviously works extremely hard at his game and looking after himself. He deserves every credit and all the success in the world for that.
"It's what football's about, you always want to improve. Doing things in your spare time looking to improve, looking at every detail.
"As you get older you start being more wise about your body and the way you can adapt to certain situations in football and off the pitch as well. I'm just maintaining similar to what I used to do when I was 18, 19, the gym work and the analysis work, things I've been really conscious of over the years.
"It's always benefited me and it's what I'll continue to do."
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