Fletcher Insists Reds Can Deliver

Darren Fletcher has every faith the Manchester United players can deliver the goods this season, despite defeat to Swansea City on Saturday.

The Scot was asked about the comparison with this season’s opening-day defeat to the one in August 1995 away to Aston Villa when Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen famously said: ‘You can’t win anything with kids’.

With a spate of injuries to contend with for the Swans clash, two of United’s current crop of young stars, Tyler Blackett and Jesse Lingard, were given debuts against the Swans, as was new signing Ander Herrera. And Fletcher insists that, despite the loss, there were positive signs from the younger players and he’s confident in their ability going forward.

“To be honest, I thought about that in the dressing room afterwards,” Fletcher said in reference to the 1995 opener. “It did have a feel of that, in terms of people looking at the squad and maybe not seeing household names, but these players are good enough and the manager believes in them. All you need is a platform to go and perform and I’m sure they’ll definitely go and prove people wrong.

“The manager has given the players great confidence and shown belief in a lot of the players. You saw some of them starting against Swansea, the likes of Tyler and Jesse, young lads who he believes in. That's fantastic because that’s what Manchester United has been about since the Busby Babes. He believes in the players and has given everyone an opportunity to stake their claim and ultimately it’s up to us to take those chances and prove our worth.

“This whole club is about bouncing back from adversity,” he added. “You have to be a big character to play for this club and there are plenty of characters in the dressing room and plenty of players ready to step up. People talk about players that have left but I see it in the eyes of the young players – they’re ready for it and determined to show how good they are and we’re determined to show how good the team is.”

Fletcher insists the players won’t get disheartened by any negative comments or criticism this term and will instead use it as motivation to prove people wrong.

“Obviously people have been waiting for an opportunity to have a go at United for years and this is the perfect time," he said. "It’s a long season and let’s see if they’re saying that towards the end of it. I believe they won’t be and that we’re going to have a very good season.”

And his message to the United faithful is simple: “We’ve got great fans. Obviously they expect a lot and we have to adhere to that. You can understand their frustrations after last season. This club has been used to success and we realise that. I think the fans have been very patient and fantastic and I’m sure they’ll stick with us."

Darren was talking to ManUtd.com, PA Sport and the Manchester Evening News.