Manchester United technical director Darren Fletcher clarifies his role and defends set-piece coach
Fletcher has been present in dugout despite taking on behind-the-scenes role
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Darren Fletcher has clarified his technical director role at Manchester United, revealing that his main responsibility lies in developing academy talent for the first team.
Fletcher was appointed to the newly-created role last year to work alongside John Murtough, United's first-ever football director.
Despite the behind-the-scenes nature of the job, the former United midfielder has been present in the dugout among the coaching staff during games, sometimes even helping to take the pre-match wam-up.
Fletcher was questioned about the specifics of his role at a fans' forum held by the club on Friday, where he told supporters that the upheaval following Ralf Rangnick's interim appointment in November led him to expand his role.
Following Rangnick's appointment and the departure of predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, coaches Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna also left Old Trafford.
“With Ralf and his staff coming in, and Michael and Kieran choosing to move on, we had a quick transition process, so part of my role has been to assist with that, both on the training pitch and during games,” Fletcher explained.
“I guess that’s been the most visible part for me this season, but that’s really an addition to my overall technical director role.
"Probably the key part of the role is taking a holistic view of the path for players from our academy to our first team. That pipeline of academy talent is a massive part of who we are as a club.”
Fletcher also used the forum to defend the record of Eric Ramsay, the coach appointed last summer with the remit of improving United's record on set-pieces.
Despite Ramsay's appointment, United only scored from a corner for the first time in the Premier League this season in the recent 4-2 victory over Leeds United, having failed with their previous 139 attempts.
When asked about Ramsay's appointment, Fletcher pointed out that United's record of conceding from set-pieces has improved since his arrival.
“People only give the one narrative about scoring from set pieces. The biggest reason Eric was brought in was because we were conceding too many goals from set pieces.
“We have really improved our defending from set pieces and wide free kicks this season. Eric is a fantastic coach.”
United conceded 14 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League campaign last season, around 0.37 per game. This season, that has dropped to five in 27 games, a rate of around 0.19 per game.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments