Manchester United have held initial conversations with a number of former players under consideration for the role of interim manager, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer thought to be the leading contender on a shortlist also believed to include Ruud van Nistelrooy and Michael Carrick.
Darren Fletcher, the under-18s coach, has been handed temporary charge of the first team after the dismissal of Ruben Amorim on Monday, with the 41-year-old former Scotland international assisted by Jonny Evans for the Premier League match away to Burnley on Wednesday evening.
Fletcher, who asked for Sir Alex Ferguson’s blessing before taking the job, is also expected to be in charge for the FA Cup third round tie against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Fletcher played for United for a decade under Ferguson’s management
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He hinted that his team would play with four at the back at Turf Moor, thus ditching the 3-4-2-1 formation favoured by Amorim. “It’s a club formation that we use and it’s a formation that I’ve been used to playing for a long time as well,” Fletcher said.
The Old Trafford hierarchy have a number of options to consider in the coming weeks, with the plan to recruit Amorim’s long-term successor in the summer.
Insiders at United said any suggestion that Solskjaer is the preferred choice for interim was premature but his experience, having occupied the role for three years between 2018 and 2021, counts in his favour. As does the fact that the 52-year-old Norwegian still has a home in Cheshire and was photographed in the area on Tuesday.
Although Solskjaer did not win a trophy as manager, the football that United played during his time in charge was the most exciting of the post-Ferguson era.
Carrick was sacked by Middlesbrough at the end of last season after finishing tenth in the Championship
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Van Nistelrooy and Carrick are also popular figures, having also previously stepped in as caretaker managers at United in the past after the departures of Erik ten Hag and Solskjaer. Both have been out of work since leaving Leicester City and Middlesbrough respectively and would be interested in taking over at Old Trafford until the end of the season.
Solskjaer’s previous spell as United manager began under similar circumstances as an interim after José Mourinho was sacked in 2018, but the fan favourite subsequently got the job permanently and led United to third and second-place finishes in 2020 and 2021. He was sacked the following season when United slid to seventh, and has since had one inglorious six-month spell as Besiktas manager in Turkey.
Speaking at his first press conference since taking the reins from Amorim, Fletcher said it was “surreal” to think he will be in charge of the team against Burnley. “It’s an amazing honour to be able to lead a Manchester United team,” the former United midfielder, who played 342 times for the club, said.
Before accepting United’s request to step up temporarily from his role as under-18s coach, Fletcher spoke to his former manager Ferguson. “I’ve got a really good relationship with Sir Alex, so I wanted to speak to him first and ultimately to get his blessing to be perfectly honest with you,” Fletcher said. “I think he deserves that respect. I wanted to run it by him and he was supportive of it.”
When asked if he wanted the job full-time, Fletcher said: “Honestly, it’s not something I’ve thought about. I’m focusing on Burnley. I think that discussion is for after the game.”
Amorim came in for criticism from many of Fletcher’s former team mates such asGary Neville and Paul Scholes, who are now media pundits. The Scot said he will not ask them to tone down their criticism if United continue to play badly under his leadership.
“You can’t ask them to go easier [on you] because they’re passionate guys and I think they have a right to their opinion and they’re really good,” he said. “They’re engaging, they’re good to listen to. It [criticism] is difficult but Manchester United is the biggest club in the world so that level of scrutiny and expectation comes as standard.”
Fletcher said that Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount have recovered from their injuries and should be able to play at Turf Moor. If both are passed fit, two players from the previous match day squad will have to be dropped, which raises the possibility of the Scot’s two sons, Jack and Tyler Fletcher, being omitted from the squad. Tyler is yet to make his debut but Jack made three substitute appearances under Amorim.
“They were in the training group on Monday because that was already arranged before I got [appointed],” Fletcher said. “They’ve been in the squad recently, but obviously we’ve got a couple of players back from injury so we’ll assess that tomorrow.”
Fletcher and Fernandes sat together at Old Trafford for United’s 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Boxing Day
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A return for Fernandes would be a huge boost to United, who have missed their captain in the three matches since he suffered a hamstring injury in the 2-1 loss to Aston Villa on December 21.
“Mason and Bruno were pushing to play against Leeds but they weren’t quite ready, so they’ve trained and they should be back in the squad [for the Burnley match],” Fletcher said. “But they’ll be on managed minutes as well because they’ve obviously just returned to training.”