‘Acceptance’ of where Man Utd are now clear as Fletcher accepts players are ‘fragile’

Ally McCoist believes there’s an “acceptance” of where Manchester United now are, as caretaker boss Darren Fletcher has admitted his players are “fragile.”

Reports suggest that United want their new manager in the door by next weekend, when they face rivals Manchester City. That’s probably for the best after the ignominy of Fletcher’s two-game spell.

In the wake of the sacking of Ruben Amorim, Fletcher led United to a 2-2 Premier League draw to 19th-placed Burnley, before they lost to Brighton in the third round of the FA Cup .

United went 1-0 down in the 12th minute, and former Red Devil Danny Welbeck followed Brajan Gruda’s goal with his own in the 65th minute to send the Seagulls 2-0 up.

United fought their way back with an 85th-minute Benjamin Sesko strike – his third in two games – but could’t mount any more pressure on Brighton, with youngster Shea Lacey’s late sending off not helping them in that respect.

Ally McCoist, speaking on TNT Sports, did not feel United were good enough.

He said: “They had a lot of possession, United, but they didn’t do enough with it.

“The second goal knocked the stuffing out of them. There’s no real belief in this team.

“The crowd got going for the Sesko goal but at the whistle you can hear a pin drop. There’s an acceptance, now, of where United are and what’s happening.”

Fletcher himself has admitted the players are flat, and feels the fans are unhappy at current proceedings.

He told TNT Sports : “Mixed performance. We started OK and then the goal knocked the stuffing out of us. I challenged them at half-time to move the ball with tempo instead of just composure. When we got back to 2-1 I thought here we go, the crowd was up, the energy was up but we couldn’t get it over the line and get an equalising goal.

“I think you could see the players are fragile but they’ve got to respond. Confidence is one of the most powerful things in football so when you don’t have it, you have to dig deep and then the confidence comes back.

“It’s over to them, they need to make sure that they have got a lot to play for this season. This team is still good enough to achieve success this season but they have to dig deep.

Fletcher then told BBC: “Out of cups, only Premier League games to play for, the fans weren’t happy at the end but they have got every right to air their grievances. It wasn’t toxic but they showed their disappointment. I’m sure if the players show the right reaction, the fans will get behind them like they always do because there is still a lot to play for in the Premier League this season.”