Scott McTominay has hinted Manchester United will treat their fans to more attacking football under new manager Erik ten Hag after a second successive pre-season win.
United beat Liverpool in Thailand in their first pre-season game on July 12, and followed it up with a 4-1 victory over Melbourne Victory. McTominay was among the scorers, along with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, with an own goal from Edmond Lupancu rounding off the scoring.
Six different Manchester United players have already netted in pre-season, despite the absence of last season's top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo. And, as Ten Hag's team prepares to return to action on Tuesday, the scorer of their first goal has shed light on the volume of players getting into the box and threatening in key areas of the pitch.
"It's cutbacks, it's getting in the box, all of us, not just myself," McTominay said when asked about things the team was getting better at under Ten Hag. "I know I can score more goals and it’s all the players.
“The manager wants more players in the box, which is where you score goals and that’s the most important thing," he added. “For us, the level of detail which he’s talking about is so easy to understand as well and that’s probably one of the most benefitting things in terms of pre-season because all of his ideas can come at once and we can take them on board as well.”
The Scottish international's comments will be music to the ears of United fans left frustrated by their team's finish to the 2021-22 season. Under interim boss Ralf Rangnick, they scored just five goals in their last six games and took only four points from the fixtures to finish sixth.
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Ten Hag's arrival at Old Trafford comes after another title-winning season with Ajax in which the Amsterdam club were lethal in front of goal. They scored 98 goals in just 34 Eredivisie games, while also scoring 20 times in the Champions League group stage before bowing out in the last 16.
"Everyone's so, so happy with the new coach in terms of the detail and attention to the work that we're doing, and everyone’s so fit now," McTominay said of Ten Hag's input. "And we can get fitter, I can get fitter, the whole team can, which is obviously a benefit for the future as well.”
United's pre-season tour continues with games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in Australia, followed by meetings with Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano on successive days at the end of July. They begin their Premier League campaign on August 6, with Brighton & Hove Albion providing the new manager's first opponents in a competitive game.
