Scott McTominay believes that Manchester United’s win over Chelsea is “something to build on” after firing his side to Premier League victory.
McTominay scored twice as the home side impressed in a 2-1 victory after another difficult week for the club.
Erik ten Hag had been placed under renewed pressure after a flat defeat to Newcastle amid reports that he had lost the support of the dressing room.
But, having banned a number of journalists from his pre-match press conference, the Dutch manager would have been delighted by a vastly improved performance that lifted them into the top six.
And McTominay, instrumental throughout, believes that the result gives the Old Trafford club reason for encouragement moving forward.
“It was a pretty abysmal display at Newcastle, to be honest,” McTominay admitted to Amazon Prime Video. “It wasn’t anywhere good enough.
“To come here tonight and win is something we can build on. Obviously, I thought we started really well in the game. We’ve got to show that consistently, which has not been the case of late.
Scott McTominay scored twice in a 2-1 win— (Getty Images)
“We just have to take it a game at a time. We’ve got Bournemouth on the weekend which will be another tough test. We’ll just go step by step - we can’t get too carried away because we played well tonight. It’s the next game that is important.”
Ten Hag dropped Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to the bench for the visit of Chelsea, with Antony and Rasmus Hojlund preferred in forward areas.
His side responded well with a vibrant attacking display, with Alejandro Garnacho again performing strongly on the left and creating McTominay’s second with a fine inswinging cross.
McTominay, who could have well have had more goals on the night, being denied twice in quick succession in the first half by Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal, and squandering an excellent opportunity on his left foot while on a hat-trick.
“I’ve always enjoyed getting in the box,” McTominay, who is Manchester United’s top scorer this season, explained. “Maybe on a different night I could have had one or two more, if I’d calmed down for my last one on a hat-trick.
The Scotland midfielder has been in fine goalscoring form— (Getty Images)
“That’s football. I’m obviously delighted to score two.”
Manager Ten Hag, meanwhile, was delighted to have silenced a few critics after a disappointing result against Newcastle.
The Dutchman hailed the togetherness of his dressing room after a morale-boosting win.
“It was about the result, but you need a good performance to get the right result,” the Manchester United manager told Amazon Prime. “We played three games last week, two very good performances and one bad - everyone is talking about the bad performance.
Erik ten Hag was pleased with Manchester United’s performance— (Getty Images)
“They know when they play good and they play bad. They are not robots, they can’t do it every time. But they play for each other. We have a good dressing room.
“The crowd is always behind us, and we have to please them. That is our demand - to give 100% every time. It is not acceptable when we give less. This league is very strong. Everyone can beat everyone.”
