PETER Grant saw Scott McTominay make his debut in senior football for Manchester United when he came on as a late substitute against Arsenal from the stands at the Emirates Stadium at the end of last season and thought he was watching a seasoned Premier League player in action.

Tall, composed in possession, tactically astute and technically excellent, the 20-year-old strolled through the closing stages of a game that was being broadcast live on television and played out in front a crowd of 60,055 supporters.

So, the subsequent rise of the holding midfielder, who has become a regular first team starter at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho in recent months, has come of no surprise to Grant.

The fact he is eligible to represent this country, though, has. "I was actually at his first game and didn't know he was Scottish,” said the man who new national coach Alex McLeish has appointed as his assistant. “The first thing I saw was 'Mac' and I was laughing saying: ‘He must be Scottish!’

“He was magnificent. I remember thinking: 'Wow! Where has he come from?' He was like an old pro. He used the ball very well, played with an enthusiasm, a knowledge and understanding. Then you find out he could play for us.

"I'd never heard of him before that day. l looked at him and thought: ‘He can't be Scottish because he's 6ft 4in, passes the ball really well and is playing in central midfield for Manchester United in a big game against Arsenal’. He was outstanding."

Grant added: "I have watched him closely since. Then I found out he's Scottish, that he wants to play for Scotland and now you've got a chance to work with him. I thought: ‘Wow, what an opportunity’. Hopefully he can learn at Manchester United and bring something to us as well.”

Remaining in the Manchester United first team will not be easy for the Lancashire-born and raised player who qualifies to play for Scotland through a father who hails from Helensburgh.

He may have kept Paul Pogba, who became the richest footballer in the world when he moved from Juventus for a cool £89 million two years ago, out of the side, but there is intense competition for places at the English behemoths. How much longer can the youngster continue to keep them out and feature? There are no guarantees despite his early success.

Grant, though, has always been a glass half-full kind of individual. He is convinced that McTominay has benefitted from training and playing alongside his close friend Michael Carrick in recent years. He also believes that coming through the youth ranks when legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson was still involved at the club aided his development.

“It's a great opportunity for young Scott,” he said after preparations for the friendly against Costa Rica at Hampden on Friday night got underway. “He has been able to learn from a top player like Michael Carrick, one of the best midfielders in Britain.

“He came in last night and was very humble. That quality has maybe got him as far as he has. You see a lot of young players who play once for the first team and think they are a player.

“You can tell with Scott he has been brought up the right way, with Sir Alex. He comes in with his eyes open as if he is willing to learn and is excited about playing football.

“Some guys turn up now and want the footballer’s lifestyle, but they don’t want to put the work in. If you said to them they weren’t playing on Saturday it wouldn’t bother them. "

Grant continued: “I was a player myself. I played over 100 games and was still cleaning boots. That was the way it was. Big Billy (McNeill) didn’t move me. I thought that was the norm.

“Now all of sudden a rule was brought in which meant the players weren’t allowed to do that. But for us it was brilliant. It meant I could go into the dressing room and speak to Danny McGrain, and then go home at night and say: ‘Danny McGrain spoke to me!’ These guys missed out.”

Grant knows that McTominay isn’t the kind of player who will delight supporters by beating three opponents before firing the ball into the top corner. His style is suited to the ultra-defensive approach that Mourinho is renowned for taking to the game. But he does feel he is ready to make the step up to international football.

“He has done that exceptionally well,” he said. “The fact he has been selected in the big games so far tells you a lot about the temperament he has and the background.

“If you watch the way he plays, that is what you want him to do for the national team. You don’t want him to be a right-winger. He is not going to score 100 goals. He has knowledge and understanding to be the defensive player.

“For me, it is about football intelligence. I think that is what he is great at. He has an understanding of what his role is within the group. He is not scared of the ball, he gives it to players if they’re on, he knows his strengths. That is what he will do for Scotland.

“He has to play the way he plays for Manchester United. That’s why he is selected. He is only going to get better. He is going to be a major fillip for Scotland, there’s no doubt about that.”

The emergence of a Manchester United player who can represent Scotland has generated much excitement among supporters and Grant, who can remember an era when every top English club had a smattering of footballers from this country, shares that. "It used to be like that all the time," he said.

But the former Celtic midfielder is optimistic about the prospects of players who are emerging at clubs in this country, many of whom McLeish has called into the national squad for this double header, as well.

"I know people criticise the Scottish game, but I see a hell of a lot of young players playing," he said. "That is a big difference for me. You used to come up and there were a lot of has beens who had come from abroad. When the Bosman ruling came in at first it killed us a little bit.

"Now, because of the way things are financially, we have to play the youngsters. We have some boys who have 200 games. That was never the case before. That is exciting as well."