He certainly improved, but pretty much everyone who is playing improved, because we improved as a team. Also it is really easy to improve upon the some really week in and out really horrible performances, so the bar was set very low. If we get used to him as a starter then top4 is really our maximum, with the other positions filled with quality, one championship, lower league player in form will not drag us too down. But there are really huge limitations in his game and huge room for improvement when we replace him.
It all seems like that after a while, when a player is as bad as Scott, we just start to praise him for really basic things, which is fine form of encouragement for the player but not exactly the bar set high enough for a top club which should aspire to win Premier league every year dominant way and try to win CHampions leagueevery year.
Because of players like McTominay we became "a battling" club, not the team which rolls over teams. In fairness that's only few teams in the wolrd, however this is exactly what we should be aiming for. We can't just accept mediocrity and settle for second. We should aim to be the best, not just a great club.
That will hopefully come with time, when Ten Haag slowly replaces and upgrade all of the players needed to reach the top. MCT might then become the fringe squad player and leave like Evans or Sheasy, to seek more football elsewhere. In the meantime we should try to implement more talented youngsters for the squad roles, there will be much higher benefit than playing bang average players. Understandably there is a safe way chosen by the gaffer nownew in function. But hopefully he will start throwing kids, not only in preseason...