Scotland international Scott McTomine is now the absolute main force of Manchester United, and his rise must be attributed to former Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho. At the 2018 Manchester United Club Annual Awards Ceremony, Mourinho insisted on adding an award to Wheat, because it was a pre-hoc decision, so there was no trophy, and he could only hold a candlestick as a trophy.
That year, De Gea was named the best of the season by fans, the Sir Matt Busby Award, which, according to United's tradition, usually only the fans' best of the year, the teammate's best of the year, the rookie of the year (Jimmy Murphy Award) and the reserve team's best player.
However, at the last moment of the award ceremony, Mourinho stepped onto the podium and decided to add an award temporarily. The move surprised the club, and the staff was unprepared, so they could not come up with a new trophy, so they had to find a temporary cameo with a candlestick shape close to the trophy. In the end, the winner, McTomine, held a candlestick and completed a group photo with Mourinho and the host.
Andy Goldstein, the host of the British radio "talkSPORT", was working for MUTV, the official television station of Manchester United, and witnessed the scene firsthand. He recalled that halfway through the awards ceremony, Mourinho had a whim, forcing the behind-the-scenes staff to look around for the right trophy.
"I was hosting United's Best of the Year ceremony, the manager was Mourinho and we had it live." Goldstein said: "Manchester United have some traditional awards, like the Sir Busby Award, the Player of the Season, etc., but we received wind saying that José (Mourinho) decided to present a new award of his own invention. He thought about it at the awards ceremony, not that afternoon. The party opened at 20:00 and José said at about 21:30 that he was going to add an award. Maybe the time is not accurate, anyway, it is proposed halfway. The award is called Mourinho's Best of the Season, and McTomine won it."
Goldstein added: "But to give an award, you always need a trophy. So the staff had to find a candlestick for McTomine to hold. This silver candlestick has a slender shape and a certain curvature that many people cannot find. I don't know if McTomine himself knew he got a candlestick."
This particular award has only been presented once so far, and McTomine may become the only United player to have won the "Manager's Player of the Year" honour. As for why the award was added temporarily, Mourinho explained on the stage with a candlestick at the time: "When I found out that Scott [McTomine] didn't get any awards, I felt that he should never go home empty-handed. He's the only best player in Manchester United." McTomine, who then took the stage to accept the award, hugged Mourinho and also looked down at this somewhat strange trophy.
After Mourinho's dismissal, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer briefly sent McTomine back to United's second team, but then the Scotlanders returned to the first team and became the main force with their own efforts. Although McTomine's talent is not outstanding, he is praised by fans as the "new team soul" of the team after André Herrera because of his style of doing his best on the field. Interim coach Ronnick also reused wheat and praised his potential as captain.