Craig chases a five-star show
“Playing them any time is hard enough but it was Zlatan’s final game and they really stepped it up. He’s a great player.
“People think he just strolls around the park but he’s walking into positions for a reason. He knows where he’ll get time and space to play. He’s very intelligent.
“You look at the way he played for Sweden against Denmark to get to the Euros – whoever gets him this summer is getting some player.”
Asked whether a trip back to the continent might be on the cards as he looks for a new employer Fletcher said: “Maybe a few years ago I would have said ‘ Nah, I want to stay in England’, when I had a four- year contract with Sunderland.
“But now that I have experienced it, I would actually be up for it. I would never say no now. I’ve not thought about my future yet. I’ve not had much contact with anyone.
“I’ll sit down and think about it after this week and start picking up my phone when I go off on holiday. My wife will be worse than me for wondering where we’re going to be. I’m quite laid back, used to moving around, but she isn’t.” Craig Bryson is seeking to impress his fifth different boss in five seasons. He only hopes he lasts more than the minute he got to prove himself to the last one.
The Derby midfielder has endured a tortuous year fighting back from a knee injury sustained with his first tackle in his first game for Paul Clement in the first game of last season.
The 29-year- old knows the end of Scotland’s twogame trip means a return to the Rams and a new gaffer in Nigel Pearson.
But Bryson can’t wait for another crack at promotion to the Premiership next season – if he gets the nod.
He said: “It’s always the same when a new manager comes in. It’s a clean slate for everyone, even the boys who haven’t been playing as well as the regulars.
“When a new manager comes in you need to prove yourself and I did it with Paul, got into the team for the first game of the season – and lasted a minute.
“All that hard work in preseason and I tore my medial ligament going in for a 50/50 tackle and getting carried away a wee bit. It wasn’t a foul but I missed four months then had to play catch-up.
“Then you have the challenge of getting back in the team, which wasn’t easy when you consider we spent £ 10million on midfielders while I was out.”
The former Clyde and Kilmarnock favourite did play the final 15 games of the campaign as County made it to the play-offs only to lose to Hull in the semis.
He added: “I’d set out to make sure the season was going to be remembered for winning the play- offs rather than one where I’d been out for so long.
“I’d never been out that long and it was hard to get used to it, especially the fact I kept coming back then breaking down.”