GREAT SCOTS AT MANCHESTER UNITED
Ever since the days of William Stewart, in the late 1800s, Manchester United have enjoyed a long association with Scottish players.
Scott McTominay becomes the latest man to take over the mantle, after opting to represent the country of his father's birth and being named in Alex McLeish's squad on Monday.
McTominay told us in September 2016: "The majority of my family is Scottish. My Mum has got a little bit but my Dad’s side is all Scottish. I’ve been to a few training camps with Scotland. I’m probably more Scottish than I am English but it doesn’t bother me really."
There is another midfield prospect in the ranks who could represent Scotland in the future, in the shape of Edinburgh-born Ethan Hamilton, who received his first senior call-up for the Emirates FA Cup win at Huddersfield Town recently.
So the bond is continuing, even if the link with north of the border was much stronger in the past. There were three Reds in the 1974 World Cup squad (Jim Holton, Martin Buchan and Willie Morgan - plus former striker Denis Law) and four (Buchan, Gordon McQueen, Joe Jordan and Lou Macari) in Argentina four years later.
When the Tartan Army travelled to the World Cup finals in Mexico, in 1986, they were able to cheer Arthur Albiston and Gordon Strachan (pictured).
When Donald Love left to join Sunderland, it was suggested the connection had been broken between United and Scotland, which also extends, of course, to several of our managers, but McTominay was waiting in the wings to take on the baton.
We've decided to focus the five most-capped Scotland internationals who played for United...
1. JIM LEIGHTON (91 caps)
Scotland's no.1 goalkeeper for some time, he was well established with Aberdeen when being reunited with Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford in 1988. Only Kenny Dalglish is above him in the list of his country's leading appearance makers and he represented Craig Brown's team at the 1998 World Cup, seven years after leaving United and 16 years after making his international debut.
2. DARREN FLETCHER (80 caps)
A homegrown Red who worked hard to become a key component of one of Sir Alex's top sides, he unfortunately missed the 2009 Champions League final due to a harsh suspension - a year after being an unused substitute for the famous win over Chelsea in Moscow. Third on the list of caps for his country, the Dalkeith-born star scored in only his second outing at senior international level, against Lithuania.
3. DENIS LAW (55 caps)
One of the finest strikers in the history of the British game, and a United legend, 'The King' was adored by the Stretford End. The fact his international career ran between 1958 and 1974 shows his importance to the cause and he was 34 when turning out at the World Cup in West Germany. The centre-forward's tally of 237 goals for the Reds is bettered only by Wayne Rooney and Sir Bobby Charlton.
4. JOE JORDAN (52 caps)
Nicknamed 'Jaws' after losing his front two top teeth, the fearsome target man joined from rivals Leeds United in 1978. Jordan was the scorer of one of Scotland's most important goals - in the 1973 World Cup qualifier against Czechoslovakia that earned a place at the finals the following year, and a first place at the main event for 16 years. He was joined at Old Trafford by fellow countryman and Leeds colleague Gordon McQueen and they both played in the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal in 1979.
5. GORDON STRACHAN (50 caps)
'Wee Gordon' racked up half a century of games for his country and later went on to manage the team. A Ron Atkinson signing, he linked up again with Sir Alex after their time together at Aberdeen. The pair had also worked at the 1986 World Cup, when Strachan scored against West Germany but the Scots were knocked out at the group stages after a 0-0 draw with 10-man Uruguay. After a move to Leeds was sanctioned, the veteran skippered the Yorkshire side to the last-ever Division One title in 1992.
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