Darren Fletcher has rejected the chance to join Michael Carrick’s coaching staff as Manchester United’s new backroom staff are confirmed.
Manchester United have appointed Michael Carrick as their interim coach until the end of the season following Rúben Amorim’s sacking last week.
The Portuguese head coach was dismissed after a 1-1 draw with Leeds United, reportedly falling out with the decision-makers at Old Trafford. The decision was then made to install a caretaker manager until the end of the campaign and to find a new permanent boss in the summer.
Initially, Ole Gunnar Solskjær was the leading candidate to take over, given his experience at Old Trafford, with Director of Football Jason Wilcox seeing the Norwegian as the best fit, but Carrick went on to impress in interviews and was eventually given the job.
The 44-yera-9old’s first game in charge will be the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, with a gruelling trip to Arsenal to follow.
Why Fletcher rejected the chance to join staff
In between Amorim’s sacking and Carrick’s appointment, United had two games to play – A Premier League trip away to Burnley and an FA Cup tie to Brighton.
The club installed U18s head coach Darren Fletcher as the interim manager for the two games, but United went on to draw with Burnley and lose at Old Trafford against Brighton, results not good enough to put him in the running for the position for the rest of the season.
However, it was reported on Monday that Fletcher would still be given the chance to join the next interim manager’s backroom staff, but according to The Athletic, he rejected the offer.
It is said that Fletcher instead made the decision to head back to coaching the U18s. Given his desire to become a first-team manager in the future, this is likely the much more sensible move for his ambitions, as well as helping continue the development of United’s talented young crop.
Who will make up Carrick’s backroom staff?
Further, The Athletic have reported that Steven Holland, Jonathan Woodgate, Jonny Evans, and Travis Binnion will be the four behind Carrick for the remainder of the season.
Holland is well known for his stint with England under Gareth Southgate, but he also has plenty of experience at the Premier League level, having been involved with Chelsea in the 2010s.
Woodgate is also a familiar face for Carrick, having worked with the former United midfielder as his assistant during the latter’s period managing Middlesbrough.
As for Evans and Binnion, these are two who know United well. Evans spent the better part of a decade at United across two stints as a player, and after initially stepping down as the head of player pathways last month, ahs retunred to the club at a time of need.
Binnion has been United’s head coach for the U21s for the last few seasons and is distinctly familiar with some of the side’s younger talents, so his transition into the first-team backroom staff should be a smooth one.
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