Manchester United: Darren Fletcher sought Sir Alex Ferguson’s blessing for interim manager role
One of Amorim’s damning observations during his rant at Leeds was his belief that senior officials at Old Trafford pay too much attention to the observations of pundits, chief among them former captain Gary Neville.
Fletcher shared a dressing room with most of them and still counts them as friends.
As someone who was heavily criticised when he was breaking into the United team two decades ago, he feels it is something the current squad have to live with.
“You can’t ask them to go easier [on us] because they’re passionate guys, they have a right to their opinion and they’re really good,” he said.
“They’re engaging. They’re good to listen to. I enjoy listening to them. I had years of listening to them in the dressing room and used to sit and take it all in.
“The outside noise is difficult to deal with because those players have won everything.
“They’ve got success behind them and they’ve got trophies. It’s hard to criticise them back because they’ve got their medals on the table.
“But that’s what being a Manchester United player is. Get your head around it, learn how you’re going to deal with it, and embrace the challenge.”
Fletcher says a lack of spare time since stepping in means he has not had chance to speak to his squad individually.
Instead, he restricted his conversations to captain Bruno Fernandes and the new senior players. Fletcher has met with Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko this week, having spoken to goalkeeper Senne Lammens last week. Bryan Mbeumo, United’s other major summer signing, has not had chance to speak to Fletcher as he is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon.
There has been no conversation either with Amorim, who gave Fletcher’s son Jack his debut last month and put his other twin Tyler on the bench for United’s past three games.
“I’ve reached out to him but not managed to make contact yet, which is understandable. He’s obviously got a lot on in his mind and I’ve been really busy,” Fletcher said.
“I’d love to because I had a good relationship with Ruben and he was great with me.
“But it’s important you move on very quickly. Football is a cruel game, so it’s important we tried to create a little bit of energy and a little bit of spirit. Hopefully there’s more of it again tomorrow.”
