Source: Team_Talk
Fletcher: United will pull together
Darren Fletcher has led the defence of his Manchester United team-mates against Wayne Rooney's allegations they are not good enough for him.[LNB] As one of the players believed to have been targeted by Roy Keane in 2005 during his infamous interview with MUTV that was so explosive it was never screened and, within a month, had heralded the Irishman's exit from Old Trafford, Fletcher is acutely aware of the impact Rooney's astonishing declaration made last night.[LNB]Coming just two hours before the 1-0 win over Bursaspor, it forced Sir Alex Ferguson to make an impassioned post-match defence of his recruitment policy, triggered high level discussions that involved the Scot, chief executive David Gill and United's controversial Glazer family owners, as well as striking a chord with the body of supporters who feel their club is being hamstring by a massive debt burden.[LNB]Yet Fletcher emerged from the maelstrom to declare United to be in good hands.[LNB]The Scotland skipper was not about to claim Rooney is anything other than a world-class talent.[LNB]He just feels a quick look at the history books should help calm the fears of fans likening this week's staggering events as something close to Armageddon.[LNB]"You have to accept big players and big stars move on at every club," said Fletcher.[LNB]"Fans don't like to hear that or see it happen. But it is part of modern-day football.[LNB]"We should all remember what a big club Manchester United is. The biggest in the world.[LNB]"High-profile players have left in the past but the club itself just keeps going.[LNB]"There will be moments when we are down. There will be disappointments. Strength of character comes from how you respond to them; how you react to the challenge.[LNB]"If anything, it should galvanise the squad because we all need to come together. The fans need to trust us and get behind the team."[LNB]Fletcher was just 21 when Keane was said to have ranted that he "did not know why people raved" about the Dalkeith-born player.[LNB]Five years on, having made over 250 appearances for the Old Trafford outfit and now recognised as one of the most forceful box-to-box midfielders in the Premier League, Fletcher is one of those who will be expected to carry United through their crisis.[LNB]Having assumed the captaincy of his country, it is a responsibility he find easy to accept.[LNB]"You almost fall into the role because you have been here for so long," he admitted.[LNB]"I know what the club is about.[LNB]"I have been through challenging situations before and the experience helps.[LNB]"You know what advice to give to young players to make them concentrate on the pitch.[LNB]"That is what you must do above all else in these situations. As players we cannot control anything apart from that.[LNB]"We have a good bunch of lads. I know that because I work with them in the dressing room every day."[LNB]Fletcher knows the same things were said about him - and Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo - as United were desperately searching for a way out of their crisis half a decade ago.[LNB]It took another 18 months - which included another seismic departure in Ruud van Nistelrooy - before the promise Ferguson had identified turned into tangible success.[LNB]Yet the three seasons from 2007 and 2009 arguably represent the greatest period in the club's history given it brought a hat-trick of titles, one European Cup, plus a second final and a semi-final defeat to AC Milan, as well as the World Club Cup and the first of successive Carling Cups.[LNB]In the wake of Rooney's revelations, it would seem those days are at an end.[LNB]Fletcher does not share the view.[LNB]"I am confident we can win trophies," he said.[LNB]"We have a lot of exciting, young players, who are getting better every day. You can see in training that they are improving all the time.[LNB]"Crucially, we also have a core of experience that has been through testing situations before and won plenty of things for Manchester United.[LNB]"Looking around the dressing room, I am very content to have these guys as team-mates. I know we can win matches and I am very optimistic about the future."[LNB]
