“He’s so iconic that every single word, you just bottle up, and you always try to remember it for future games.”

Scott McTominay has revealed a surprise phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson helped inspire his heroic overhead kick which sent Scotland to the World Cup.

The Scotland star admitted he was left stunned when an unknown number flashed up on his phone last September. What followed was a pep talk with the Manchester United legend that McTominay still holds close.

Speaking to GQ after being named in their All-Star list, alongside the likes of former Celtic player and Australia captain Jackson Irvine and England fullback Reece James, he said: “I spoke to Sir Alex in September, which was amazing. He called me, and I was extremely grateful that he took the time to speak to me and just ask me about how I was doing and football and stuff like that.

“So it was lovely to speak to him. I was only a young kid when he was leaving, so for him to think of me was extremely special, because he’s the greatest to ever do it, in my opinion.”

The call came completely out of the blue. McTominay laughed as he explained: “It was No Caller ID. I answered and just said ‘Hello?’ because I answer every call. I feel like I have to.

“And he just said, ‘How are you doing, son?’ And so I knew fairly quickly who it was.

“We had a nice catch-up. It was probably more normal than what people would think – just like your friend calling you up, for example, and asking how you’re getting on and stuff like that.

“But, yeah, it was really special.”

The Scotland midfielder has refused to reveal exactly what Ferguson told him during that conversation. However, he hinted the legendary former United boss delivered words that have stayed with him ever since.

McTominay said: “Yeah. It’s probably personal, so I wouldn’t ever want to say anything out of turn. But he’s always had great advice.

“He’s so iconic that every single word, you just bottle up, and you always try to remember it for future games.

“And then three months later, we qualified for the World Cup. So the conversation must have inspired something.”

The Napoli star saw his career change upon moving to Italy, including firing Napoli to the Serie A title, being named the league’s player of the season and even being nominated for the Balon d’Or.

But his wondergoal to help Scotland defeat Denmark 4-2 and send Steve Clarke’s men to their first World Cup in 28 years has elevated him to legendary status in his home country.

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The incredible overhead kick was immortalised in a mural just a stone’s throw from Hampden Park earlier this year. Speaking about seeing it for the first time, he said: “I’m extremely grateful for it.

“Thank you to Adidas for thinking about doing something so special like that, but I almost feel a little… not a sense of embarrassment, but when it’s up on the top there, where all the players can see it in training, you know… I’m quite low-profile.

“Obviously, it’s an amazing thing, but yeah, my big head up on the side of a building is something that’s a little bit surreal to me. I don’t really know how to put it into words, it’s that special.”

McTominay joined Manchester United as a five-year-old and remains one of the last academy graduates shaped during Ferguson’s era. During his time at Old Trafford he won an FA cup and League Cup.

Now he stands on the brink of another historic challenge, representing Scotland at their first World Cup since France 1998.

Yet amid all the excitement, McTominay insists the biggest winners are not the players – they are the children across Scotland who finally get the chance to see their heroes on the world stage.

He said: “It’s great for the kids to experience something like this – especially for the young and aspiring Scottish footballers.

“I think that’s the most important thing, when a kid is enjoying it, and they’ll now be able to go to football and think about the World Cup and have conversations with the other kids at school about it.

“It’s an amazing thing. And, for us, we’re just extremely grateful that we could bring that happiness to Scotland.”

While Steve Clarke’s side have reached recent European Championships, the agony of failing to progress beyond the group stage has left a sense of unfinished business. McTominay believes the World Cup offers another chance to create history.

He said: “It’s not been missing, because we’ve qualified for a couple of Euros, but they’ve been underwhelming for our standards.

“We wanted to qualify and get out of the groups, and we didn’t quite manage to do that, so this is another opportunity for us to create a bit of history.”

Although he was only two years old when Scotland last appeared on the biggest stage, McTominay grew up dreaming of one day playing there himself.

He said: “It’s a tournament that’s watched by the world, and it’s something that, as a kid, I always dreamed about playing in. For me to have the opportunity to do that will be incredible.”

But McTominay is determined not to let the occasion overwhelm him. Instead, he wants to savour every second.

He said: “What I want, even in the build-up, is to enjoy every minute.

“I don’t want to look back when I’m 40 or 50 years old and think, I was too anxious, I was too worked up. As I’ve gotten older, the career is short. You have to enjoy it.

“If you don’t, it can flash by so quickly and leave you wondering where the time went. Now that I’m a bit older, I can experience and enjoy things. It means more.”

Visit the GQ All-Stars Hub Page to read more.

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From Monday, June 1, to Tuesday, June 9, no trams will stop at Market Street or Shudehill.

This means that all services from Bury will go to Altrincham via Exchange Square.

The trams will not stop at Piccadilly Gardens, Piccadilly, Market Street and Shudehill.

Other tram routes will also be affected, with services from Altrincham not calling at Piccadilly Gardens, Market Street and Shudehill.

Trams from the Trafford Centre will go to Etihad Campus and services from Manchester Airport will go to Victoria via Exchange Square.

Information on Bee Network’s website states that customers might need to change trams, take a short walk or hop on the free bus to complete their journey.

It also states that a replacement bus will operate between Piccadilly and Victoria.

A statement on the website reads: “For customers on the Bury and Altrincham lines, the easiest way to reach Piccadilly will be by changing trams at St Peters Square.

“You may need to change platforms for the right trams, see departure boards and signage on stop for more details.”

Tram services will resume via Market Street/Shudehill stops from Wednesday, June 10.

The Marks and Spencer store in Warrington only opened last summer

M&S has confirmed that a store it opened less than a year ago is closing down.

The Manchester Evening News reported last summer how the new M&S Outlet store opened at Warrington’s Riverside Retail Park, selling clothing and other products at discounted prices.

It joined a number of other M&S Outlet stores in the region, including one at Quayside in Salford, formerly Lowry Outlet; one at Urban Exchange in Manchester city centre; and another at the Designer Outlet Cheshire Oaks in Ellesmere Port.

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The arrival of the store was largely welcomed by shoppers, although some did share their disappointment that it didn’t include a Food Hall, and suggested the original M&S site in Golden Square would have been a better location.

Others raised concerns about traffic in the area, saying they already struggled to get in and out of the retail park.

Now the retailer has confirmed that the 6,000 sq ft store is closing for good with the company saying its performance ‘hasn’t been where it needs to be’.

Pete Dobson, regional manager at M&S, said: “Our Warrington Riverside Outlet store will close on Saturday 20th June and we’d like to thank all of our customers who have shopped with us and our colleagues. We will continue working hard to serve customers at our nearby Gemini store, offering the very best of M&S Food, Fashion, Home and Beauty, and at our Stockton Heath foodhall.”

The Outlet store – one of 16 new stores M&S that opened across the UK in the 2025/26 financial year – was an addition to the M&S stores that already exist in Warrington, including the huge one over at the town’s Gemini Retail Park and the food hall in Stockton Heath.

More than 20 new staff were recruited to join a 28-strong team at the Riverside store, which also sold kidswear and a curated range of home and beauty products.

M&S says all colleagues have been redeployed to alternative roles at the company. The closure is part of M&S’s wider ‘store rotation programme’, which is focusing on opening more food-led stores in easily accessible sites.

Other sites to close include its branch in Oxford Street, Swansea, which shut down on Saturday leaving shoppers ‘heartbroken’. The store has been a major shopping attraction in the city for many years.

A further store closure is scheduled for June in Newport, with the retail chain citing changes in customer shopping habits as the reason for the shutdown.

Those with an understanding of how the embassy in Washington works describe it as being almost like a government department itself in size – and, crucially, with connections to so many aspects of the Whitehall government machine, given the importance of the UK-US relationship. This is particularly true on military and intelligence matters, much of which will likely be redacted from this document drop on national security grounds.

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The machine was reported stolen at 5.15pm on Saturday (May 30) from Farmbank Road in Ormesby.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: “Two males, all dressed in black, are believed to have driven away on the vehicle and drove it around a field.

“Officers conducted a search with support from NPAS. The vehicle has since been recovered.”

A National Police Air Service spokesperson added: “On Saturday, May 30 at 5.25pm, a police helicopter crew lifted from NPAS Newcastle to assist Cleveland Police with a vehicle search.

“This was located by the crew in the helicopter. The total flight time was one hour.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Cleveland Police on 101 quoting reference number 103716.

Some people may notice some changes to their bus routes in Cambridge

Some routes for Cambridge buses have been changed with the aim to “improve punctuality and reliability”. From Sunday (May 31), a number of major Cambridge bus routes, run by Stagecoach, were updated.

A Stagecoach spokesperson said the company was making a “few updates” to “improve punctuality and reliability across Cambridgeshire ”. The following services have changed:

• Cambridge 1 – timetable adjustments for journeys towards Fulbourn to improve punctuality
• Cambridge 4 – Now serving Bourn Quarter and peak times during Monday to Fridays. New stopping times are at 8.10am, 8.30am, 4.05pm and 4.45pm
• Cambridge 6 – The 8.40am journey from Mondays to Saturdays will be adjusted. In Cambridge city centre, buses will now depart from stop E4 on Emmanuel Street instead of E5
• Cambridge 7 – A new morning journey from Sawston at 8.22am and adjustments to the 3.03pm journey from Pampisford
• Cambridge 8A – In Cambridge city centre, buses will now pick up from stop E5 on Emmanuel Street instead of Drummer Street bus station bay 10
• Cambridge 13 – Timetable adjustments to improve punctuality
• Madingley Road park and ride – Minor Saturday timetable changes to improve punctuality
• Newmarket Road park and ride – Minor timetable changes to improve punctuality
• Milton park and ride – Buses will now serve Science Park Main Road stop instead of the stop inside Cambridge Science Park, helping to speed up journeys
• Tiger 4 – The 8.50am journey from Addenbrooke’s to Newmarket will now depart at 8.40am.

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