Darren Fletcher said it was beyond his wildest dreams to manage Manchester United for one game – but claimed he had not thought about becoming Ruben Amorim’s successor on a permanent basis.
The former United midfielder will take charge against Burnley on Wednesday but said he has had no conversations with the club’s hierarchy about staying in charge for longer, let alone becoming the next manager.
United are likely to appoint an interim manager for the rest of the season, with Fletcher’s former teammates Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick under consideration.
But the Scot, who is the club’s Under-18 manager, was put in temporary charge after Amorim was dismissed on Monday and expects to have more discussions about his future later this week.
And he said: “It’s surreal. It’s an amazing honour to be able to lead a Manchester United team. I didn’t think in my wildest dreams that was something that could happen. It’s not in the circumstances I expected and that’s something that doesn’t sit easy with me. But I’ve got a job to do and will think of the honour and pride.”
Fletcher, who has also been technical director and first-team coach at Old Trafford, insisted he had not considered becoming manager.
“Honestly, it’s not something I’ve thought about,” he said. “That discussion is for after the game. It’s all happened so quickly, all my concentration and efforts are going on Burnley.”
Fletcher has brought back Jonny Evans to join him on his coaching staff. The Northern Ireland international retired in the summer and was a teammate of Fletcher’s at both United and West Bromwich Albion. He will also be assisted by Travis Binnion and Alan Wright.
“Jonny Evans has a great association with the club, knows the players, is comfortable in the environment and a familiar face to the group.”
Fletcher believes that captain Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount could return at Turf Moor.
“They were pushing to play against Leeds, they’ve trained, they’ll be back in the squad but will be on restricted minutes,” he explained.
With two midfielders back, he also faces the question of whether to pick his twin sons Jack and Tyler, who were both on the bench at Elland Road.
He added: “They have been in the squad recently. We’ve got a couple of players back from injury and have a couple to assess. They are in the periphery squad but if they make matchday squad it remains to be seen.”
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