THE first time that I met Scott McTominay and had a conversation with him, his message to me was music to my ears and made my journey to Manchester all worth it.

He would commit his international future to Scotland there and then. From that moment, he has never looked back for his country.

And now I hope he will have another achievement for his club as Manchester United look to overcome Villarreal and win the Europa League in Gdansk this evening.

As soon as I learned that Scott was eligible to play for Scotland, I wanted to get down there to speak with him and see what his thoughts were regarding his international aspirations.

I had lunch and a really positive meeting with Scott and Jose Mourinho and he said to my face ‘I only want to play for Scotland’. That made the trip worth making, that is for sure.

It wasn’t an easy journey, right enough. It was during the Beast from the East and by the time I got to Manchester around 4am in the morning, the guy at the hotel reception said they thought I was a no-show. Thankfully they found a bed for me!

It was a long day. I started in Glasgow, got the train from Edinburgh Waverley and that one was meant to go right down but we got told when we got to Newcastle that the train was terminating because of the weather. I had to wait for one to get to York and by this time there were delays galore and it was travel chaos across the country.

I was in York in the middle of the night. There was a train to Manchester coming, and on the other platform was one that would take me back to Kings Cross.

I thought ‘no, I have come this far, I am going all the way for the big man’. I eventually got the train to Piccadilly and a taxi to the hotel and thankfully got a bed for a couple of hours sleep.

The next day, I got over to the United training ground and Jose welcomed me and we had a great chat with big Scott. From then, he has never looked back.

It was a marvellous feeling to get that commitment from him and it gave me a shiver when the words came out and he said he wanted to play for Scotland. I knew then that all the hassle travel wise had been well worth it.

I got to know Scott a bit better during that lunch and I got a bit closer to Jose as well. It was a great afternoon and I am delighted to see how much Scott has come on in the years since.

There were times when Jose used him sparingly but he was a young player coming into the Manchester United team and he was learning every day. Eventually I felt it was the right time to give him his debut against Costa Rica.

Scott is a big unit of a man, but he is quick, strong, good in the air and his passing has become more assertive the more games he has played for United and Scotland. It is great to see his progress and hopefully he can thrive in the Europa League final now.

I put him into that friendly game at Hampden but we generally stuck with the players that were playing regularly in their teams after that. Looking back, I should have started him in the San Marino game.

Callum McGregor said he was fine to play again but I could see after the first half that he was puffed out and we brought Scott on not long after the break.

He was in and out at United while he competed with experienced guys in their squad but the learning process was quick for him and he got himself back into the team.

I had a chat with his agent and said that I wanted to get him into the Scotland side but he had to be playing first team football. Fortunately United saw that he had the necessary talent to do that and he has become an integral part of that team now.

When you are a Manchester United player and you come into the Scotland setup, there is a pressure and an expectancy on you straight away and I likened Scott’s situation to that of Darren Fletcher.

Darren was a fantastic player for the team and very much a team player. He would come up with a special goal or tackle, but he was one that Sir Alex Ferguson could trust to do his job first and foremost.

I remember Darren coming into the Scotland squad and people thought he was going to be like George Best! That wasn’t the case just because he played for Man United but that was the level of expectation because of the club that he was associated with.

Darren would go on to become a legend for the national team and big Scott has now started to really establish himself for club and country and he has a great opportunity ahead of him. He has really progressed and it is great to see from a Scottish perspective.

At Old Trafford, you are expected to win leagues and win cups and to be successful in European competition and that pressure only helps players mentally. Scott has certainly benefitted from being in that environment.

Anything other than a win against Villarreal will be a disappointment for them and be seen as a failure because they are at a club where they expect to win silverware every season.

For Scott, it will be another incredible experience. He has got better and better over the last couple of years as a result of playing at a higher level and there is certainly more to come from him for both Manchester United and Scotland.