Advertisement
Soccer
Darren Fletcher confirms he will be in charge of Man Utd against Brighton
Darren Fletcher confirmed he had been asked to take charge of Manchester United for their FA Cup match against Brighton after beginning his reign as interim boss with a 2-2 draw at Burnley.
The former United midfielder was asked to step in following Ruben Amorim’s sacking earlier this week.
Fans sang the names of both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick – the two leading contenders to take charge for the rest of the season – at Turf Moor.
But Fletcher said: “I’ve been informed they’d like me to take the team for Sunday.
“There was a feeling that might have been the case from Monday, but we wanted to focus on Burnley. But yes, I’m tasked with leading the team on Sunday, so all my focus and energy goes to that now.”
Fletcher felt United did enough to beat the Clarets as they squandered a string of chances.
Burnley went ahead 13 minutes in when Ayden Heaven inadvertently turned Bashir Humphreys’ cross into his own net but United – having dispensed with Amorim’s much-maligned 3-4-3 formation – responded excellently.
They saw two shots cleared off the line and Lisandro Martinez have a goal disallowed for a foul before Benjamin Sesko then scored twice in 10 second-half minutes to turn it around.
But after Bruno Fernandes struck a post and Heaven missed a glorious chance with a header, Jaidon Anthony levelled for the hosts.
United substitute Shea Lacey also struck the crossbar as United had a total of 30 shots, 10 on target, but finished with only a point.
“I thought they put in a performance that should win the match,” Fletcher said. “I think they’ve created a lot of chances – 30 shots, goal-line clearances, a disallowed goal I’m not sure what for.
“So if you look at it in that context in terms of the shots and the domination that we had in the game, we should win the match and I’m pleased with that. There was lots of good things. It wasn’t perfect.
“I thought we started slow, probably improved as the first half went on. And I actually challenged the players at half-time. I think they had more levels in them and I think they produced that…
“There’s still lots to work on but I was really pleased with our efforts and how they tried to implement what we’d asked from them with very limited time to prepare.”
The draw extended Burnley’s winless run to 12 games and left them eight points adrift of safety, but Scott Parker was delighted with how his players responded from Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Brighton, and how they coped with falling behind.
“I thought everything we demanded of the team and that the team demanded of itself was right up there,” Parker said.
“We started the game really well. And then you go 2-1 down and at that point you need a reaction and the team produced that. It was a big point for us really.
“Of course there’s always improvement for us as a team. But overall, a massive point for us and more importantly is the character in this team. In adversity, they’ve stood up and got a result…It’s definitely a stepping stone.”
