Man United star receives immense praise for training performance before Aston Villa win

Erik ten Hag has spoken highly of one Manchester United star after the 2-1 victory against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Rasmus Højlund and Scott McTominay scored the goals to secure an important three points for United in their pursuit of the Premier League’s top four spots.

The Reds now sit just five points behind The Villians in fifth place and are unbeaten in their last six games.

However, it could’ve been more dropped points if not for McTominay’s impact from the bench. The Scotsman has now scored twice and grabbed an assist in his last three substitute cameos.

Despite coming out of the lineup in recent games, the 27-year-old is still contributing to the team, and Ten Hag has explained that his work in training is something that helps the midfielder be ready for whatever he needs on a matchday.

“Last season as well,” the manager stressed when asked about McTominay’s match-winning ability. “He is an example for many other players. There are not many players who can come from the bench and bring this energy.

“He is ready for every minute, always contributing to the team, and football is a team sport – we forget that often. Scott is the example, always giving the spirit.

“In the week when he is training in opposition, doing the right things, working on himself, give max. He is ready for one minute, he is ready for 90 minutes. It is great to always have such a player.”

United will have to look to improve further going forward, however. McTominay’s goal came after immense pressure from Unai Emery’s side, who looked like the team most likely to win.

The win is hugely important, but Ten Hag knows that United must focus game-by-game in order to reach their targets.

“We have to catch up, and we know already a long time we put ourselves in the situation, but the prize is always divided by the end of the season,” he added. “We are in February, and many games to play, but we are returning. There is still a long way to go, and we have to improve our game, but, of course, we are pleased we have a series of wins.

“There are still many games to play, and we have to go from game to game; there are no easy games. We can’t lay back, we have to improve our game.”