Darren Fletcher responds to former Man United team-mates’ criticism after Ruben Amorim namechecked Gary Neville in rant that cost him his job – and reveals Sir Alex Ferguson chat before taking caretaker role

Darren Fletcher phoned Sir Alex Ferguson to get his ‘blessing’ to become Manchester United’s caretaker boss – but hasn’t been able to reach Ruben Amorim.

Fletcher revealed that he phoned Ferguson before accepting the temporary role after United brought Amorim’s 14-month reign to an end on Monday.

He said: ‘I don’t like to make any major decisions or things without speaking to Sir Alex, and that’s something I’ve done since I’ve been at the club, and since I’ve left the club, and everything I do.

‘I’ve got a really good relationship with Sir Alex, so he’s probably the first person on the phone actually. I wanted to speak to him first, and ultimately to get his blessing to be perfectly honest with you.

‘I think he deserves that respect. I wanted to run it by him to find out what he thought. He was supportive of it, and he echoed my thoughts which I’ve always said: it’s your job to do the best for Manchester United when you’re an employee of the club.

‘It’s amazing when he says something that I try and live and believe every day, so it was comforting for me for him to say that.’

He will temporarily take charge of Manchester United in the wake of Ruben Amorim’s sacking 

Fletcher has also tried to contact Amorim after the Portuguese coach was axed in a meeting with chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox on Monday morning, but he hasn’t been able to reach the former United boss yet.

‘I’ve reached out to him,’ said Fletcher, whose twin sons Jack and Tyler have both been included in recent match-day squads by Amorim.

‘I’ve not managed to make contact yet, but that’s understandable. He’s obviously got a lot on in his mind, and I’ve been really busy so I’ve not had the chance to.

‘I’d love to because I had a good relationship with Ruben. He was great with me and ultimately he’s the manager who gave my son (Jack) his debut as well. So as a father I’ve got a lot to thank him for, although the boys have gone and earned that themselves. He was the manager that did that.’

After Amorim referenced Gary Neville in what proved to be his final press conference at Leeds on Sunday, Fletcher was asked if the criticism from some of his former United teammates makes life harder for the current squad.

‘Outside noise, ex-players, it’s difficult to deal with,’ he said. ‘It’s not easy because those players have won everything. They’ve got success behind them, they’ve got trophies, so it’s hard to criticise them back because they’ve got their medals on the table.

‘What I look back on is, and I’m very lucky, we had Sir Alex, we had Roy Keane, we had the experience players of around us who protected us and helped us.

‘Fundamentally that’s not the case anymore because there will never be another Sir Alex. So it is difficult, but it’s the same in every club but Manchester United is the biggest club in the world so there’s scrutiny, expectation, standards.

Amorim referenced Gary Neville in what proved to be his final press conference at Leeds

Fletcher also revealed that he asked for legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘blessing’ before taking the job (pictured together during a training session in 2003)

‘It’s there and it’s something that you have to deal with. You have to learn to deal with it. Some people it happens naturally, some people have to take time to get used to it. Slowly but surely you try and have to deal with that constantly.

‘So my thing is it’s there, learn to deal with it; find a way however best suits you and embrace the challenge of being at Manchester United. Be excited by it, but recognise that there is a lot of scrutiny and a lot of pressure and a lot of noise.

‘It’s about winning. People want to win football games, people want to be entertained, people have a standard of what Manchester United is and what Manchester United expects.

‘I think the fans, especially in Old Trafford, have been amazing in recent years, if I’m perfectly honest with you. I think there’s been a few moments here and there, but in general the support that the fans have given players, managers, their understanding of the situation, I think it could have been a lot worse inside the stadium.

‘I’ve probably experienced other stadiums where there has been a lot more pressure and hostile, so maybe the players have to deal with that noise more than actual stadium sort of pressure.’