Reds' Resilience Pleases Fletcher

Darren Fletcher was satisfied with the pluck and moxie on show in United's battling draw at Stoke City.

While the Scot conceded he and his colleagues were disappointed to surrender a lead and two points, he saw enough positives in the performance to be far from dispirited.

"From being in a winning position and losing a goal from a set-piece obviously we're disappointed not to get all three," Fletch told MUTV. "It's a difficult place to come. There's always a great atmosphere and you know you're in for a physical match, but I think the lads stood up to it today and battled well.

"You've got to enjoy and relish coming here. If you come here with any fear then that will be evident in your performance. You know what to expect, you prepare for it in training and you try your best to deal with it.

"A lot of work goes into preparing for today because Stoke do a lot of work on their set-pieces and they're a real threat from them. If you don't do your homework and prepare well you can be caught badly and I think in general we dealt with it quite well today.

"Ultimately, I think we maybe gave away too many set-pieces and corners and Peter Crouch is going to take advantage of one of them and that's the only disappointing thing we can learn from."

Fletcher, who looks sharper with each outing after the virus which had decimated his involvement during 2011, played a part in United's opener, and he was full of praise for goalscorer Nani.

"It was a fantastic goal and it was the first point in the game where we showed a bit of patience and kept the ball," he said. "Nani played a little one-two and went on and finished it nicely. He's been in great form this season, we've all seen that and long may it continue."