Darren Fletcher has made his desires clear amid conversation over a potential return to Manchester United first-team management.
Darren Fletcher’s time steering the ship of Manchester United’s first team was short-lived as he could only manage one draw and one loss, seeing United get eliminated from the FA Cup by Brighton.
However, the Scotsman has been flying high with United’s Under-18s, who are currently second place in the U18 Premier League, trailing rivals Manchester City by four points.
Fletcher’s young Reds have had the entire fanbase excited about the future of United, with players like JJ Gabriel, Chido Obi and Godwill Kukonki sparking great optimism as speculation over first-team minutes grows.
However, Fletcher has revealed his intentions for the future and how he has progressed as a manager, growing and becoming stronger with the potential goal of becoming Manchester United manager.
Darren Fletcher wants to be Manchester United manager
Reports from the Daily Mail confirm that Fletcher aspires to pull the strings at Manchester United, returning as manager rather than midfielder.
Shortly after being recruited as Under-18s boss, Fletcher was quick to admit that being in charge was a preferred position.
“It’s nice to lead, to be in charge of your own team,” he said back in August.
“I was always in a support role before, so I felt that for the next stage of my development as a coach, it was important that I led a group, and with Adam Lawrence leaving, the opportunity became available, and it made sense from a number of reasons.”
There is a history of United’s youth managers going on to manage first teams, with the likes of Kieran McKenna and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both taking the step up from the Man United academy to a first team role.
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The pressure of being Manchester United manager
Fletcher will always be highly regarded within the club for his contributions both as a player and as a manager in the academy, but the step up to the Premier League has already shown the level of the game.
Going winless in both games shows the contrast in the tactical approach, as the same dynamics cannot just be transferred from under-18s to the Premier League.
The number of eyes watching over the Manchester United manager is arguably the greatest of any team in the world, and that can prove to be a harmful factor in a manager’s success.
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Gaining more experience in the academy will prove to be useful, making the smaller steps in his managerial journey would be more fitting towards a potential return in the future as Man United manager.
Meanwhile, Michael Carrick will continue to guide the Red Devils towards Champions League football again, with a trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium waiting on Monday night.
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