HE played in all eight Euro 2024 qualifiers, scored doubles in the victories over Cyprus and Spain and pitched in with no fewer than seven goals in total – more than celebrated strikers like Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Alvaro Morata managed for their respective countries.
Yes, Scott McTominay was, no doubt about it, Scotland’s standout performer during their breathtakingly successful Group A campaign.
But don’t think that is as good as it is going to get for the Manchester United midfielder.
The 6ft 4in 27-year-old has set a very high bar indeed with his performances for his country in the past couple of seasons and he will be doing extremely well to match never mind surpass them going forward.
Yet, the Lancaster-born footballer, who qualifies to play for the national team because his father hails from Helensburgh, excelled for his adopted homeland when he was not featuring on a regular basis for his club side.
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McTominay has, possibly as a result of his inspired showings at international level, been used far more often by United manager Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford in the past seven months and is now doing every bit as impressively for the English giants.
The FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool on Sunday underlined that - he broke the deadlock in the first-half and then set up former Rangers loanee Amad Diallo for the winner in the final minute of injury-time as the Anfield giants were beaten 4-3 in a classic encounter.
John Carver, the Scotland assistant manager, is certain that even more is to come from an individual who has become a hero to the Tartan Army at the Euro 2024 finals in Germany this summer and then beyond.
“I'll use Scott McTominay as an example. He was struggling to get in the Man Utd team. He came to us and was outstanding, scoring goals in a slightly different role, more offensive and getting in the box.
"He has gone back and fought his way into that Man Utd team and now the manager is delighted. He has got him in the team and there were a few games where he saved his job, I think. He is an example of a player who has gone away to his club, worked extremely hard and he can fit into the system we want to play.”
He added: "I think he can get better. He has got better for Man Utd and it's not easy getting into a Man Utd team with the history, tradition and what goes on behind the scenes.
“It's one of the biggest clubs in the world and if you can't perform at Old Trafford in front of those fans, you are normally pushed out of the door. Scott has actually fought for his place and done extremely well in difficult circumstances.
“He can improve and I like to think he wants to improve. For the national team, he has been outstanding and he got that award (he was named EE Scotland Men’s Player of the Year this weekend).”
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Carver is convinced that performing so well for Scotland in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign gave McTominay confidence at a difficult juncture in his career and enabled him to win around Ten Hag and establish himself at United.
"Very much so,” he said. “Think about the game against Spain. Rodri is one of the best midfielders in the world and yet Scott was on that same stage, competing with him and excelling against him. He must have thought: 'Rodri is one of the best players in the world, I can compete with him and be on the same stage'.
"He has gone back to Man Utd with so much determination and it's helped us. It's great he is playing all the time. Before the European campaign started, he wasn't getting a great deal of game time.”
Not that Carver thinks a player who will be one of the first names down on Steve Clarke’s team sheet when the national side take on hosts Germany in the tournament opener at the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 14 is exactly lacking in self-belief.
“Scott is a great lad, your typical Man United player,” he said. “He has got the personality to play for Man United, that’s why you are there. He has a presence. He has that little swagger.
“At the very top clubs you need that because he has to play under pressure every single week. And it’s not just pressure from Manchester, it’s all around the world. You have to be able to cope with that and he does.
“And that brings the confidence when he comes into the camp. The guys love him, the staff love him. You tell him to do this and he does it. You see the different, more offensive role we give him with less restriction on getting forward. He has thrived on that.”
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