McTominay headed in the opener in the 3-0 win over Cyprus in Larnaca this evening to move alongside Romelu Lukaku of Belgium and Rasmus Hojland of Denmark at the top of the qualifying scoring charts with six.
Steve Clarke’s men are nine points clear of second placed Spain in Group A with three matches remaining and could secure their spot if the Norway game against Georgia in Oslo on Tuesday goes their way.
However, the Manchester United midfielder, who had previously been on target against Cyprus and Spain in March as well as against Georgia in June, and his team mates are not celebrating quite yet.
“We have to keep a lid on it,” he said. We know we are all really good players in the dressing room that we have got. We have got a really good squad which is full of great characters as well.
“John McGinn is the prime suspect for being a great character and keeping the group together and always wanting us to push and keep going. So I feel like for us it is relatively simple. We have just got to keep our feet on the ground and keep trying to win games and not concede goals.
“For us, that is the goal, that is the ambition. I feel like we have got half a foot in the door. But the job isn’t done. That is point number one in there – the job isn’t finished. We need to go into our next games and really push. We want to keep winning. We don’t want to lose our mean streak.”
Asked if he would like Scotland to secure a place with a win over Spain next month, McTominay said: “It would be nice that way. But whatever happens we’ll take it.
“We are in a really good position at the minute. We have won five in five and are 11 unbeaten in competitive matches which is one of the longest unbeaten streaks in Europe at the minute. I feel like we are in a good spot.
“The manager is saying, 'Keep your feet on the ground, not too many beers tonight, take it easy and get ready for Tuesday (Scotland play England in a friendly at Hampden)'. So we will.”
Asked by Viaplay what the reason for his incredible scoring streak is, McTominay paid tribute to Clarke.
“The manager gives me a lot of freedom to go and get in the box and potentially make things happen,” he said. “Obviously, he has shown a lot of faith in me and I just want to repay him.
“You always speak to your family before the game and they always wish you good luck. You just want to make them proud. You want to make people in Scotland happy. That is my job and the team’s job and I feel we’re doing it well at the minute.”
McTominay added: “It was really warm. We had to train yesterday in a similar sort of temperature as when we arrived. For us, it was one of those nights when you had to be patient.
“They were going to have a little bit more of the ball than we would like, but I thought we did a really good job of not conceding any goals. It was positive.”
