Fletcher: I’ve no regrets about leaving United
DARREN FLETCHER will make his 35th appearance of the season today. That is more matches than he played in his final two years at Manchester United when they appeared unconvinced he would find top form again after battling bowel disease.
Fletcher, captain and first name on the team sheet at West Brom these days, faces his former club at the Hawthorns. He always believed he still had the energy and stamina that won him four Premier League titles and a place in United’s 2008 Champions League winning squad.
‘I had no doubts at all. I knew my fitness levels would gradually get better and I was at a decent level,’ he says, reflecting on his fight against ulcerative colitis, diagnosed in 2011 and which kept him out for 10 months. ‘When I’m fit, playing two or three games a week is not a problem for me. It’s been great to actually show it.
‘I know when I have a bad performance, people might say, “Oh yeah, he’s been ill and is never going to be the same player”. I’d rather people just say, “You’ve had a really bad game”, which is probably what it was!’
It is all food for thought for Louis van Gaal. The United boss made it clear six months into his reign that Fletcher was not part of his plans. The popular Scot was welcome to stay at Old Trafford, but only as a reserve.
It was no surprise, therefore, that the midfielder opted to join Tony Pulis at Albion in January 2015. While Fletcher has been a Premier League ever-present this season, his £14million replacement Bastian Schweinsteiger has only been fit enough for 13 starts.
As for Van Gaal, he looked odds-on to be dismissed at the start of the year, but the emergence of youngsters like Marcus Rashford has given United renewed hope of finishing in the top four. Fletcher’s take is interesting.
‘Van Gaal is a fantastic coach but I think the Premier League has been a difficult challenge for him,’ he says. ‘I think he will be the first to admit that he has found it a lot more difficult than he expected. There are no easy games here. Teams don’t stop; they keep going for 90 minutes, no matter what the score is. It is unique to the Premier League.
‘Van Gaal demands a team structure. He is very demanding of your role, what you do and where you should be. It is about patience and is very structured, there is no doubt about that, but I learned a lot from it. He expects creativity at the right moments, he doesn’t expect it all the time. People think the Premier League is all off the cuff, but it’s not. It’s a mix. The fans demand a certain way and players are used to playing to a certain way, but there are a lot of tactical gameplans as well.’
On a personal level, Fletcher appreciated Van Gaal’s openness.
‘I was offered a new contract but didn’t feel I would get enough game time,’ he adds. ‘United were heading in a new direction. I could have stayed and been a bit-part player, but I was desperate to play.
‘The manager understood my situation and I understood his. It was my decision and they let me follow it through. I’ve no regrets. There’s more expectancy on me at West Brom. I am captain, I’ve a lot more to do around the place. And I’m getting an insight into the coaching side as well.’ Albion are still a couple of wins from guaranteeing their Premier League status again despite a memorable 2-2 draw at Leicester.
‘I found more pressure last season staying in the League than at United, to be honest,’ adds Fletcher. ‘Going for the title is a buzz and there is more scrutiny at United. But the pressure of staying in the League is a lot more intense and that hit me very quickly. There are times when you have to stop teams, and times when you take the initiative. I have been in those situations with Scotland. Rolling my sleeves up has never been a problem.’
Though United may dominate possession today, Fletcher still hopes he can carry a goal threat as a support to Saido Berahino and Salomon Rondon.
‘I’m 32 but my fitness levels are great,’ he says. ‘I spoke with the manager around Christmas about getting forward a lot more and using my energy up the pitch, to find myself in a position to put in crosses or get into the box.
‘I am not just sitting in the midfield now. To join the front players, have a bit more freedom, is great. I think my performances have gone up another level.’
A couple of goals in his last five appearances underline that.
United arrive in better heart themselves after four consecutive victories in which they have scored 12 goals, four of them from Rashford.
As someone signed by Alex Ferguson as a schoolboy over a game of snooker, Fletcher is willing to give important advice.
‘I would say to them, ‘‘keep working hard and don’t think you’ve made it just yet’’,’ he says. ‘You’ve made it when you’ve won two or three Premier Leagues and you’ve played for four or five seasons. That is when you can buy your Bentley or supercar.’