Darren Fletcher’s interim spell at Man Utd has no lift-off, and he has now reached the same conclusion about the club as Ruben Amorim did.
After some shoots of positivity against Burnley despite the dropped points, Man Utd were all at sea defensively in the 2-1 loss to Brighton.
Darren Fletcher saw his side concede twice before a late goal by Benjamin Sesko turned out to be nothing but a consolation.
Man Utd have lost 2-1 at home to Brighton, what is your INSTANT REACTION?
United are ELIMINATED from the FA Cup
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After the game, Fletcher arrived at a damning conclusion about this United side, which will give Man Utd fans deja vu of having Ruben Amorim back in charge.
Darren Fletcher echoes Ruben Amorim’s thoughts
For all his faults at Old Trafford, Ruben Amorim was afforded patience and support for his honesty about the state of affairs at the club.
He could almost be too honest at times, which was counterproductive at a club like Man Utd, where the pressure is already high.
Therefore, when Fletcher came with a soft touch and some encouragement, it was a much-needed reprieve from Amorim’s constant “suffering” talks.
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However, it has taken Fletcher just two games to arrive at the same conclusion about Man Utd that Amorim had reached at the club.
After the 2-1 loss to Brighton, Fletcher said, “I think you can see the players are fragile. You need to dig deep. Build confidence by grinding out the results. Of course, we want to play good football, but you’ve got to find a way to do that. Once you’ve done that, hard work, attitude, application.”
After just two games, Fletcher is talking about the same mental fragility and soft underbelly of the team that frustrated Amorim to no end.
The Portuguese repeatedly said that the team loses “in details,” which are much more important than any system or formation.
Fletcher has arrived at the same conclusion after two games in charge.
Man Utd’s manager for the derby vs City next weekend should be ___________
Who do you want to see in charge next week? Is it time for Fletcher to step aside?
Darren Fletcher claps fans
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How do Man Utd fix this?
This United squad, on paper at least, is better than many outfits of the past, but they lack the fortitude they used to have.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho’s sides regularly staged comebacks, and that comes with having big personalities and leaders in the squad.
The current squad is largely young except for a few leaders, and the new signings have come into an environment scarred by last season’s events.
The new manager, whoever it is, needs to be more of a mental magician than a tactical maestro, because so many of this team’s problems are down to a lack of mental fortitude.
Giving the players the confidence to express themselves by taking the limelight off them, and empowering them to play at their best, should be the biggest priority.
Just like winning, losing becomes a habit too, which is what happened after the last season. It will take a proper winning run to turn over a new leaf at the club.
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