Darren Fletcher will be in charge of his first game as interim manager of Manchester United against Burnley on Wednesday.
Manchester United caretaker manager Darren Fletcher said it was beyond his “wildest dreams” to take charge of the club, but insisted he has no plans to replace sacked Ruben Amorim.
After a tumultuous 14 months at Old Trafford, the Portuguese manager was sacked on Monday and former United midfielder Fletcher was replaced on a temporary basis.
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The coach of the under-18 team appeared in front of the press for the first time on the eve of the team’s match at Burnley.
“It’s surreal,” said Fletcher, who has played 342 games for the Red Devils and held various roles at the Red Devils since 2020, including technical director.
“It’s a great honor to lead the Manchester United team,” he said. “When I thought about playing for a club, I never thought it could happen.
“But leading the team is a great honor and something I’m really proud of.
“It didn’t happen in the circumstances I expected, so it’s obviously not easy for me, but I have to think that I have a job to do, and I have to lead the team tomorrow, and I have to think about the great honor and pride of doing it.”
The former Scotland international is expected to remain until the club appoints an interim manager, with United set to name Amorim’s permanent successor at the end of the season.
The BBC reported that the club had held preliminary talks with former United players Fletcher, Michael Carrick and former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær over the role of interim manager.
However, Fletcher, 41, said in his pre-match press conference that his conversations with United’s senior management had focused on Wednesday’s game and that he would speak to them again after the game.
Fletcher focused on Burnley rather than a full-time job at Manchester United
Fletcher was asked if he would like to take on the manager’s role full-time.
“Honestly, that’s not what I thought of,” he said. “I’m focused on Burnley. I think the discussion will be after the game.”
“There was so much going on and it all happened so fast that all of my focus, effort and thought went into Burnley.”
Fletcher won five Premier League titles under manager Alex Ferguson, but the club have not been champions of England since 2013.
“Everyone expects Manchester United to come out on top and win. That’s the norm and that’s what we all have to strive to achieve,” said a bullish Fletcher.
He was asked how the United team would fare.
“Hopefully it looks like a Manchester United team and represents me a little bit. I think it’s Manchester United from the point of view that I know,” he said.
“So I hope we look like a Manchester United team that the fans can be proud of and that I can be proud of as well. I believe in the players and I’m sure they will too.”
“I think we have good players, I think we have players we care about, I think there’s a lot of quality in this team and we want to give them a platform to come out and express themselves.”
Fletcher said he would like to welcome back captain Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount to a squad that has been heavily depleted by injuries and international duty.
When asked if his twin sons, Jack and Tyler, could make their full debut against Burnley, he joked that he refused to disclose confidential information.
United are sixth in the Premier League, three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool.
