McTominay’s first coach reveals where MU went wrong with ‘special player’

SCOTT McTOMINAY was discarded by Manchester United but has stolen the heart of Naples.

Named Serie A player of  the year, the Scot fired Antonio Conte’s men to the Scudetto and earned a place in Neapolitan folklore alongside the great Diego Maradona.

And the  midfielder celebrated in serious fashion — smoking, dancing and knocking back Scotch straight from the bottle during Napoli’s trophy parade.

He was even granted an audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican and his new-found celebrity status is richly deserved, too.

McTominay, signed for £25million from Old Trafford on deadline day last summer, bagged 12 goals and the Serie A Most Valuable Player gong in a stellar season.

The 28-year-old got the title party started on their final day of the season with a stunning scissor-kick finish against Cagliari.

While United needed to flog the academy product for financial  reasons, McTominay was also ready for a new challenge.

At Napoli, he  found a boss in Conte who sees him as the heart of a side, rather than someone who can fill gaps here and there.

Conte’s faith brought the best out of the Scot — who is on national team duty next week for friendlies with Iceland and Liechtenstein —  and his exploits in Italy have surprised many back home.

Though those who worked with him early on were so confident he would hit these heights, they kept mementoes from day one.

Charlie Jackson, founder of Matrix Soccer Academy, was McTominay’s first coach at United when he joined as a five-year-old.

He told SunSport: “There were no video phones in those days but I wish we could have filmed him as you’d have seen a special player.

“I’ve got his first shirt, his first training shirt and his first football — that we’ve got in a glass case —  because you knew. You just knew.”

Jackson, who also aided the development of Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton and Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson, added: “He was tenacious, he wanted to learn.

“We’d spend maybe 1½ hours on a session and he’d spend another 20 minutes afterwards, wanting to master what he’d just done.

“I’d have to have another few kids to do a drill and do the same thing again with him  because he just wanted to get it.

“It’s rare you see that in a child that age.”

McTominay was never fully utilised by successive United  managers after being handed his Red Devils debut by Jose Mourinho in 2017.

Jackson explained: “Jose was just fantastic for him. Gave him his debut, looked after him.

“Scott always works off confidence and a pat on the back. If you believe in him, he’ll run over coals for you. Conte’s done that. Mourinho did that as well.”

McTominay almost did not sign for Napoli, who were very close to landing Marco Brescianini until a late change.

How glad they must be McTominay was their pick.

Fans have donned kilts in his honour and a Maradona-style mural  popped up on the streets of Naples.

Everyone has been won over, with Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport hailing him as “the highlander who came from  Manchester to tear our championship apart” and “the symbol of the Scudetto”.

There will certainly be some red faces in Manchester, seeing one of their own go on to this success.

After a season of watching  players lacking character and fight, and finishing a dismal 15th in the Prem, McTominay is exactly the sort of player they need.

Earlier this season, former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shared his amazement by saying: “How you can sell Scott is beyond me.”

The biggest fear in Manchester is  this might only be the start.

Jackson, who keeps in touch with McTominay, added: “The best is  yet to come for him. I don’t think you’ve seen anything yet.

“I used to say to his dad Frank, ‘He’ll never be looked at as world class and it’s a shame but he should be because he is’.

“He had success with Man United but to go and do what he’s now done . . . and there is much, much more to come.

“That’s the biggest thing that I can say about him — it’s just the  tip of the iceberg, honestly.”