Scott McTominay believes he needs to be scoring more goals for Manchester United from midfield, despite his recent position change under Ralf Rangnick.
The Scotland international has remained a popular player under the interim manager, with his versatility viewed as a key asset to the first-team squad.
McTominay came through the youth system as a striker before breaking into the senior set-up as a central midfielder. Since then, he has played as a defensive anchor and an attacking box-to-box option, as well as playing in defence for his national side.
In recent weeks, the 25-year-old has been deployed as the sole defensive midfielder as part of a three-man midfield and he insists it is a challenge which he relishes.
“It wasn’t like it was anything any of us hadn’t done before," he told club media.
"He’s not asking us to play completely out of position or do different things that we’re not used to on the football pitch.
“A lot of it is the basics and the core values of football, which is what his [Rangnick's] principles are as a manager."
McTominay netted seven goals for United across all competitions last season, but has only been able to find the back of the net twice this term.
Scoring goals will never be the defining factor of his role in the United squad, but that hasn't stopped the Scot from targeting even more. He'll hope to add to his tally against Leeds on Sunday, a side he scored two in three minutes against last season.
He added: “For me, definitely I need to score more goals. I need to be the guy who can score from set pieces and score with my head. That’s something I definitely look at.
“Last year I scored seven goals so obviously I want to beat that this year and I want to keep pushing forwards into the box.
“As I say, different formations might not allow you to get into the box but still being a threat and playing the passes to help the forward boys, like against Middlesbrough, was important for me. As I say, we just want to keep getting better as a group.”
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