Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay has scoffed at claims he's been bullying Alejandro Garnacho.

McTominay took his hat off his head and booted it up the field at Carrington in training last month, with some criticising the Scot for his actions.

"I had a lot of people saying that was bullying! That was just a bit of a joke," McTominay told The Athletic as he addressed the training ground incident with Garnacho.

"But he needs to keep his feet on the ground and keep working hard and he can be one hell of a footballer."

McTominay's decision to kick Garnacho's hat appeared to be an act of frustration, and he has defended himself by claiming that he would prefer to know when a team-mate was unhappy with him, rather than having people criticising him behind his back.

McTominay continued: "I've never been interested in, if things are going wrong — and I'm not saying I've had that here, but I have experienced it over my time in football, when I was a kid — speaking behind people's backs if you don't win. That is just a disaster."

"You need players in the group who are straight-talking, say things to people's faces, and if they like it they like it, if they don't they'll get over it next week.

"I feel like we have a really good group for that, especially with the lads who are playing every week."