Erik ten Hag praises Manchester United midfielder after Brentford win

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has heaped praise upon midfielder Scott McTominay after his brace against Brentford.

United really needed a response against Brentford after home defeats to Crystal Palace and Galatasaray in the space of just a few days.

It didn’t look like coming though as Mathias Jansen fired Brentford into a first-half lead, which United struggled to overhaul.

Substitute Scott McTominay hauled United level in injury-time but there was another twist to come with McTominay finding a winner.

Old Trafford went absolutely wild as Erik ten Hag’s men pulled off a stunning late fightback – and it’s only right that McTominay is taking the plaudits.

Erik ten Hag praises Manchester United match-winner Scott McTominay

McTominay started the game on the bench but was brought on for Sofyan Amrabat with just three minutes of normal time to play.

In most situations, it’s hard for substitutes to make a real impact in that kind of timeframe.

McTominay ripped up the script though, scoring twice to become United’s hero and prevent a third straight home defeat.

Ten Hag has now moved to praise McTominay, branding him ‘fabulous’ in quotes published by Fabrizio Romano.

The United boss added that McTominay really fought for every ball during his brief time on the pitch and his hard work paid dividends in the end.

“McTominay was fabulous,” said Ten Hag. “When you come in with the end of the game near and you bring that mindset, that energy and that confidence, he fought for every meter, for every ball, and he was rewarded,” he added.

McTominay role at United remains unclear

This will go down as one of McTominay’s finest days as a United player, even if he only came off the bench late in the day.

The Scot will naturally hope that this showing leads to more playing time, especially after a summer window filled with rumours.

West Ham United and even Bayern Munich were heavily linked with McTominay but he stayed put at Old Trafford.

McTominay still isn’t a vital part of the United starting XI though, even with some ridiculous goalscoring displays for Scotland thrown in.

The 26-year-old won’t want to just come off the bench for United and this moment needs to be the springboard for him to shine – or else those rumours may just return in 2024.