Fletcher: Leading United is an amazing honour

Our former midfielder and current Under-18s boss will lead the team for Wednesday's Premier League game away to Burnley, after Ruben Amorim departed his role as head coach on Monday.

Fletcher has since been tasked with preparing the squad for the trip to Turf Moor and took a brief break from that ongoing work to speak with the media at our pre-match press conference, held earlier today (Tuesday) at Carrington.

Darren started that briefing by explaining what it means to him to take on the role, before going on to provide more of an insight into a busy last 24 hours and our preparations for the clash with the Clarets.

You can read - and watch - every word from part one of the press conference below, before the second section is made available at 22:30 GMT tonight (Tuesday)...

Good evening Darren, it’s lovely to see you. It must be a huge honour to be asked to lead Manchester United, especially with your affinity to the club. What have the last 24 hours been like for you?
“It's surreal. As you say, it’s an amazing honour to be able to lead a Manchester United team. I don’t even think it’s in my wildest dreams that it was something that could potentially happen. I think even thinking about playing for the club [is surreal], but to lead out a team is an amazing honour and something I’m really proud to do. Not in the circumstances I expected it to happen, so that obviously is something that doesn’t sit quite easy with me. But I’ve just got to think of [the fact that] I’ve got a job to do and I’ve got to lead the team tomorrow, and think of the great honour and pride in doing that.”

What conversations have you had with Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrada about how long you could be in charge for and maybe what that looks like going forward?
“Yeah, so I've had a conversation and the focus was on this game, and then we’ll speak after the game. It all happened very quickly on Monday morning, we had a game to prepare and a quick turnaround. A training session to organise, speak to the players, so the focus – because of the quick turnaround from the Leeds game – has been on the Burnley match and then we’ll speak after the game. I think it's important we give the Burnley match the respect and focus it needs to prepare the team in such a short space of time.”

The natural question people will be asking is… do you want to stay on beyond [the Burnley game]? Obviously, you've done so many jobs at this club, your affinity has been mentioned… would you like to try and earn the manager’s job full time?
“Honestly, it's not something I’ve thought about. I'm focusing on Burnley. I think that discussion is for after the game. As I said, there's been that much going on. It's all happened so quickly. All my concentration and efforts and thoughts are going into Burnley and I know that sounds like a generic answer, but it is what it is.”

What's the backroom team going to look like for you in this game, the next game, however long it is?
“Yeah, so Travis Binnion who leads the Under-21s, who I started my coaching career with in the Academy, who I’ve known for five years that I've been here. I actually couldn't ask for anybody better beside me than Travis, we’ve got such a close relationship together for such a long time, [he is] somebody I respect, somebody who I've learned a lot from. His assistant, Alan Wright, who is newly joined [at] the club as well, so the Under-21s staff come and join me, and Jonny Evans has come in to help as well. [He is] somebody who has a great association with the club, recently played, knows the players, is comfortable in the environment and a familiar face for the group and the players as well, so those three will assist me for the game tomorrow.”

Darren, a lot's been said about Manchester United over the last few months, what is your feeling of where this club is? You obviously are the epitome of Manchester United, is one of your tasks to reconnect it with its roots in a way?
“Well, for a game, it's to try and win a football match against Burnley. I think I've had a few different roles at the club, obviously coaching the Under-18s just now. My focus and energy every time I’ve been at the club, in whatever role, is always to do the best for Manchester United and try and help the club, help the people that I'm working with, the players, the staff and try and do everything I can to help Manchester United be successful. And, as we say, everyone expects Manchester United to be on the top and winning. That’s the standard, that’s what we all have to try and achieve, that’s the standard set for everyone at the club and I just do my best in whatever role I’m in to help make that happen.”

In terms of the squad, obviously Ruben's had a lot of players missing, are any of those players going to be back?
“Well, I think Ruben alluded to it… Mason and Bruno were pushing to play against Leeds. The decision was that they weren't quite ready, so they've trained, so they should be back in the squad. But they'll be on managed minutes as well and restricted minutes because they’ve obviously just returned to training. So, that's good news, especially the fact that obviously players who have been in good form, Mason Mount’s form has been fantastic and Bruno Fernandes… you don’t have to speak about Bruno. He’s the captain, he’s the leader of the team, so to have them available for selection is obviously great news for me and for the players, and for the club and for the fans.”

What are the chances that Jack and Tyler Fletcher get full debuts against Burnley? 
“Well, I’d be disclosing team information before the game and I'm not going to do that and give anything away. Look, for me, they were in the training group on Monday because that was already arranged before I got there. They've been in the squad recently, but obviously we've got a couple of players back from injuries, so we'll assess that tomorrow. We still have to assess a couple of players tomorrow as well, because of the short turnaround from games. So, they're in the periphery squad, but whether they make the match squad, I don't know yet. That remains to be seen.”

On a more serious note, what will your Manchester United look like? 
“Well, hopefully it looks like a Manchester United team that, you know, represents a bit of me. I think in terms of what I know is Manchester United. So it resembles a Manchester United team that fans can be proud of, that I can be proud of and I'm sure they will because I believe in the players. I think we’ve got good players and I think we've got players who care and I think we've got a lot of quality in that team and I hope to give them a platform to go out there, express themselves and show that. And also to challenge them to… it's about them, it's not about me, it's their season, it's their careers, it’s their opportunity. I’m here to help them but they’re the ones who have to cross that white line and go on the pitch and make it happen, so [I will] give them some responsibility to go and do that.”