Darren Fletcher will take charge of the FA Cup – but Manchester United’s problems are much bigger

Darren Fletcher has confirmed that he will remain as Manchester United interim manager during their FA Cup third round match against Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday.

However, if there is one truth reinforced by United’s 2-2 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor, it is that whatever problems exist at Old Trafford, they will not be solved simply by changing the man in charge.

“They told me they wanted me to captain the team on Sunday,” Fletcher said.

“There was a feeling that might be the case on Monday, but we wanted to focus on Burnley. I’m tasked with leading the team on Sunday, so all my focus and energy is on that now.”

“They” are United chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox.

As the final whistle blew, the television cameras turned to the directors’ box and selected the duo.

They looked absolutely frozen, which was not surprising as it was a dead January night in Lancashire.

But they also seemed to have a lot on their minds as they stood silently.

This was also not surprising after the last string of disappointing performances.

Since the start of November, United have played 10 matches against teams currently in the bottom eight of the Premier League. They won two of them.

All of their past three matches have been against teams either mired in the relegation zone, in the case of Wolves and Burnley, or desperately trying to stay out of it, in the case of Leeds. Their comeback is three draws.

The old problems remain, despite the exclusion of Ruben Amorim in the wake of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Elland Road, and specifically, the emotional outburst that followed. These problems still exist despite Fletcher immediately moving away from the Portuguese coach’s 3-4-3 plan in favor of a back four.

In successive away matches against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in November, United went ahead, fell behind and had to fight for a 2-2 draw.

This was the opposite – as they fell behind and fought back to take the lead thanks to Benjamin Sisko’s first brace since his £73.7m move from RB Leipzig in the summer, only to concede a second goal in a game they dominated.

United have kept just two clean sheets all season. Fletcher accepts that it’s not good enough.

“I think that was proven during the season [we] “Giving goals up too easily,” the former United and Scotland midfielder said.

“There is a tactical element when you change to five players in the back line, as there is more space to cover but we defend as a whole team.

“As a team we need to improve defending and not concede too many goals.”

The secondary element is that United are not taking enough of their chances.

It is a fact that Amorim’s goals per game average – 1.4 – was the second worst of any United manager in the Premier League era, with only Ralf Rangnick below him.

If there is one positive thing, it is that Fletcher surpassed this number in his first match with the team. The disappointment came after learning that his team scored two goals from 30 shots, 10 of which were on target.

Twice, Burnley managed to clear shots off the goal line. Cisco wasted several chances to complete a hat-trick, and Lisandro Martinez had a goal disallowed due to pressure on former Manchester City defender Kyle Walker.

“I’m not sure why,” Fletcher grumbled. “We must win the game.”

Brighton represents the first obstacle in United’s latest quest to win titles this season.

By then, Perrada and Wilcox are expected to have spoken to main contenders Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick about replacing Amorim on a temporary basis.

Whoever gets the job, his immediate task will not be easy. United’s next two matches in the English Premier League will be at home against Manchester City and away to Arsenal.

Not that the evening was entirely devoid of positives.

Sisco has not scored since October and has only scored twice in nearly five months as a United player. He now has four assists after two assists from Bruno Fernandes and Patrick Dorgou.

“I sat down with him yesterday and showed him videos of his movement and how opportunities would come,” Fletcher said.

“It’s just a case of believing and going. Hopefully it will start flowing from now on. It was a real positive night for him.”

Then there was Chia Lassi.

Amorim gave the England Under-20 international his first appearance with one appearance from the bench but has repeatedly refused to be used despite disappointing results.

A six-minute display at Turf Moor demonstrated the folly of this decision.

In his first attacking raid, Lacey cut in from the right wing as he likes to do and fired a beautiful shot into the home team’s goal, which hit the crossbar.

And with United’s final attack, he hit the ball again. For a brief moment, his long-range shot appeared to be heading into the goal before flying agonizingly wide.

And from Fletcher’s assessment, it’s fair to assume that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him.

“I told him to stay on the right side and go do what you do,” Fletcher said.

“I know he will make an impact. He is creative, he has goals, he is exciting, he is direct, he is fearless.

“I’m very happy for him because he played a really great game. We know the talent he has.

He added: “He will be a big part of Manchester United’s future, I have no doubt about that.”