Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho hits back at Gary Neville over Scott McTominay

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho appeared to lash out at Gary Neville after former defender criticised Scott McTominay‘s technical ability. 

Mourinho has leapt to the defence of his midfield stalwart after Neville said the Scotland international might not be quick enough to release the ball to play in United’s midfield following the 0-0 draw with West Ham on Thursday.

The 21-year-old started his second consecutive Premier League match on Sunday afternoon as the Red Devils finished the season on a high note with a 1-0 win over Watford.

McTominay has enjoyed a memorable breakthrough season under the Portuguese boss, but Neville believes his technical ability is not up to a United standard, prompting Mourinho to label the former skipper “negative.”

Talking to MUTV after the match, Mourinho said: “‘If you want to be negative, you can always be negative.

“You can be negative until the point that you say that Scott McTominay, who is a kid who arrived here at nine years old, is not good enough.”

United ended the season in the Premier League runners-up position, having finished 19 points behind rivals Man City, though they did manage to collect 12 points more than last season, while they also face an FA Cup final against Chelsea later this month.

And McTominay played an important role at times this campaign, as an ageing Michael Carrick has taken a back seat, while Paul Pogba has struggled for form and consistency.

Playing in 23 matches in all competitions, the defensive midfielder’s performances have impressed Mourinho, while also earning him his first Scotland call-up in March, as his played 58 minutes against Costa Rica.

Neville stated, after the match in east London, that McTominay would be more suited to a defensive role because of his physicality, citing a lack of sharpness for his reasoning behind wanting him dropped from the midfield.

Despite this, the mountainous midfielder played the full 90 minutes on the last day of Premier League action alongside veteran Michael Carrick, who featured in his last ever United match, passing over the torch to his 21-year-old defensive midfield counterpart.