Darren Fletcher makes damning admission about Man United stars after FA Cup loss to Brighton

Interim Manchester United boss Darren Fletcher has made a stunning admission about the squad, following the club’s loss at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion in the third round of the FA Cup .

United have been dumped out of the FA Cup following their 2-1 loss to Brighton at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils started as the much better side, with chances falling to Diogo Dalot , while Bruno Fernandes also came close to breaking the deadlock with an intelligent free-kick.

However, it was Brighton who took the lead. United’s sloppy defending was punished by Brajan Gruda , who found the back of the net after an initial attempt was cleared off the line by Lisandro Martinez before it fell at his feet.

The goal seemed to suck the life out of United, who emerged for the second half even more lethargic and devoid of any attacking rhythm.

Gruda turned from scorer to provider in the second half, setting up ex-United forward Danny Welbeck for Brighton’s second of the match.

Benjamin Sesko pulled one back for United late in the game as he headed in a corner from Fernandes, but it was too little, too late to push the game into extra time. Fletcher’s men finished the game with 10 men after youngster Shea Lacey was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the final whistle, Fletcher conceded the players are clearly “fragile,” a damning indictment of their mentality when facing adversity.

Fletcher said [as quoted by the BBC ], “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.”

On what the next manager has to do, Fletcher answered, “Confidence, being used to playing in a certain style and formation. They’ve just got to come together. It’s only them in the situation and only them that can do something about it.”

“Build the confidence, ground out some results, it might not be pretty at times.”

On fans being frustrated, Fletcher remarked, “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.”

Fletcher was not happy with Lacey’s red card.

“Shea Lacey’s yellow card is ridiculous compared to the fouls that we had against us all game which ultimately then the lad makes a mistake and is sent off. For me it is poor refereeing.”

“He’s disappointed because he cares and he understands and he knows he will learn from it. There is no doubt about his talent and it was a steep learning curve today but we believe in Shea.”

“He’s one of our most exciting young prospects and I’m sure at Old Trafford he will have a chance to make amends for that in the future.”

United are next in action on Saturday when they take on Manchester City in the derby.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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