Scott McTominay insists Scotland duty is never a chore as Manchester United star 'hated' watching from home

He should have been one of the main characters when Scotland booked their place in the World Cup play-offs back in November.

Instead, Scott McTominay was left feeling like he’d been trapped in the wrong movie after being reduced to a small-screen watching brief as Steve Clarke’s men got the results which kept their Qatar dream on track.

A throat infection picked up during the national team’s Spanish training camp in La Finca ahead of the double header with Moldova and Denmark meant the Manchester United ace was forced to fly home and watch on TV as the Scots booked their home semi-final slot with back-to-back victories.

In McTominay’s absence, understudy John Souttar emerged as a new leading man for Clarke as he put three years of injury torment behind him to down the Danes with his first international goal.

That fairytale ending made a tough watch for McTominay a little more bearable but the 25-year-old is determined he’ll be back to play a starring role himself this week against Poland.

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He said: “That week in Spain I was in my hotel room. For four or five days I was struggling with an illness which was quite bad to be fair.

“I couldn’t get out of bed. When I did manage to get home and was