McTominay reveals Man Utd role models as he seeks more minutes under Mourinho

Scott McTominay considers the likes of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic to be his role models at Manchester United.

The highly-rated midfielder has seen more game time under Jose Mourinho this season after graduating out of the Old Trafford academy system.

He is just 21 years of age and has several international performers ahead of him in the Red Devils pecking order.

McTominay is, however, eager to make the most of any opportunities which come his way, with it up to him to prove that he can learn from and then work alongside his more illustrious colleagues.

The youngster told MUTV ahead of a Premier League meeting with West Brom: “Even when I don’t play, it’s so important to watch the likes of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick – people who play in my position – and study everything that they do on the pitch.

“Then, whenever you go out on the pitch, you need to emulate that and be yourself on the pitch. I thought I was doing that the other night [against Bournemouth] and, as I say, I just want to progress from here and go into the second half of the season really strong.”

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On those he is seeking to emulate, McTominay added: “There are lots of different styles of play and there are a lot of attacking and defensive players so that’s a really good balance to have in the team and it means the manager has some good options.”

United will head to The Hawthorns on Sunday sat 11 points adrift of arch-rivals Manchester City in the Premier League table.

Belief remains high inside the Red Devils camp, though, with McTominay echoing the likes of Matic and Juan Mata in stating that he considers the title to still be up for grabs despite a recent derby reversal against Pep Guardiola’s side.

He added:  “That’s the main thing – keeping the pressure on, keep plugging away. We can only use that result [a 2-1 defeat to City] as motivation for the end of the season and where we want to be.

"We want to be challenging at the top and we won’t give up. We’re Man United and we never will do, that’s the philosophy of the club – to keep going right until the end and that’s what we are going to do.”  

McTominay has made six appearances for United in all competitions this season, having made his debut in a Premier League meeting with Arsenal on May 7.