Scott McTominay reveals frustrations with Man Utd coaching staff | OneFootball

Scott McTominay has admitted that Manchester United fans may never have seen the best of him due to mistakes made by the club's coaching staff when he broke into the first team.

McTominay experienced criticism from fans and pundits throughout his eight-year run in United's senior squad, but has been a revelation since joining Napoli in a £25m transfer last summer.

The Scotland international's run of 25 successive Serie A starts was only broken last weekend due to illness and he's thrived in a more attack-minded midfield role that requires him to get forward.

In 26 league appearances for Napoli, McTominay has racked up ten goal involvements. With eight games left to play in the Serie A title race, it surpasses the eight he managed in the Premier League last season – half of which came in just two appearances against Brentford and Chelsea.

At United, McTominay, had typically been viewed as a defensive or deep-lying midfielder.

McTominay arguably didn't hit his full potential with Man Utd / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages

"When I got into the first team, I was quite mis-profiled in where I was playing," McTominay explained to The Athletic, although keen not to assign blame. "It wasn't the fault of any coaches.

"My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there. But I was being used as a No 6, or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game.

"But when you're playing for Manchester United and you're 20, you can't knock on the manager's door and say that you expect to be playing at No 8 ahead of Paul Pogba. It's not realistic. You have to know your place, and do what you're asked to do. In the last few seasons, I began to get into the box a bit more, to score more goals, and then last year was my best one."

Lancashire-born McTominay was only five years of age when he first identified as a talent by United. Although initially a midfielder, he moved up front following a colossal growth spurt in his teenage years, before returning the deeper role by the time Jose Mourinho handed him a debut in 2017.