McGinn was least surprised man at Villa Park to see McTominay score the winner

There were at least two people in the 42,000 crowd inside Villa Park on Sunday that would not have been surprised to see Scott McTominay pop up with the winning goal.

John McGinn, his Scotland team-mate, has known for months now just what a goalscoring threat the Manchester United man is. He's not United's top scorer in the Premier League by accident.

'He is so athletic and he gets in the box and hits the ball harder than anyone I have ever played with,' Villa captain McGinn said of McTominay previously.

'It's no surprise he is getting goals. As long as he slows down just a wee bit!'

There was no slowing down with his winner at Villa, a bullet header from Diogo Dalot's cross that takes his tally to seven in the Premier League this season. Single-handily he's contributed to 12 points won for United.

The other person unsurprised to see McTominay thriving is that of his manager Erik ten Hag, someone who was more than happy to send the Scot packing as recent as last summer. He's indispensable now. Funny how things turn.

'Nowadays players who are subs are moaning and complaining and of course Scott is disappointed,' Ten Hag said, 'but he's ready for every minute and we have to credit him for this mentality. He's an example for all the other players. I love it.'

Sources at United speak of McTominay's desire to prove himself every single day, even in the face of being recast as a super-sub since his last league start on December 23, then in a 2-0 defeat to West Ham.

There is a fire inside the 27-year-old, a 'fiery' side by his own admission, that after more than a year of working together, Ten Hag now knows how to light on a routine basis for maximum results.

Earlier in the season at Old Trafford, with United down 1-0 to Brentford,