What Sir Alex Ferguson has said about Ruben Amorim's replacement Darren Fletcher

Darren Fletcher was named as Man Utd interim head coach on Monday (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson always knew that interim boss Darren Fletcher was destined for a career in football management.

Former midfielder Fletcher has been put in temporary charge of the Red Devils after Ruben Amorim was sacked as head coach on Monday.

Ahead of United’s Premier League clash with Burnley on Wednesday, an old clip of Ferguson talking about Fletcher has gone viral on social media .

Ferguson knows Fletcher very well – having managed him as a player at United – and giving his Scottish compatriot his first coaching opportunity around 2011 when the now 41-year-old was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a bowel disease that put his career in doubt before a comeback.

Speaking to West Brom ’s media team in 2017, when Fletcher was playing for the Baggies, Ferguson explained how he got the ex-midfielder working closely with former United coach Warren Joyce behind the scenes.

‘I’m starting to think maybe he’s not going to make it,’ Ferguson, now 84-years-old, said.

‘I started preparing him along the lines that he could become a coach with us because that was, without question, my long-term view of it.

The old clip of Sir Alex Ferguson from 2017 has gone viral (Picture: West Brom)

‘They (Man Utd reserves) were losing 1-0 at Altringham, so I went into the dressing room at half-time because I wasn’t particularly pleased.

‘Darren was doing the motivation, tactics, and Warren had given him that head to do that. It was fantastic.

‘I’ll always remember he says, ‘If you’re playing for Manchester United, there’s an expectation that you’re not showing out there. If you can’t do it in a reserve game you’ve absolutely no chance of playing for Alex Ferguson’.

Darren Fletcher will be in charge for Man Utd’s game against Burnley (Picture: Getty)

‘I’ll always remember him saying that. He didn’t see me and I was standing at the door. I should have given him a raise!’

Ferguson was then asked if he thought Fletcher would become a coach one day.

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‘[With] absolute certainty,’ Ferguson added. ‘I think his long-term position will be as a coach. Maybe even management.

‘He’s got the presence, he’s got the sacrifice. When you become a manager, it’s a sacrifice. You give up your family life, which I did.’

Two years after Ferguson’s comments, Fletcher ended his playing career in 2019 and said he aspired to a future in football management.

Fletcher returned to Old Trafford in 2020 to coach the U16s and was promoted to first-team coach the following year.