Darren Fletcher has explained how his role as Manchester United’s technical director has changed since Ralf Rangnick has arrived at the club.
The former Reds midfielder recently provided a football update to United’s Fans’ Forum at Old Trafford and clarified why he is providing the interim boss with day-to-day support alongside his remit to drive long-term strategic planning across United’s squads.
Fletcher said: “With Ralf and his staff coming in, and Michael [Carrick] and Kieran [McKenna] choosing to move on, we had a quick transition process, so part of my role has been to assist with that, both on the training pitch and during games.
“I guess that’s been the most visible part for me this season, but that’s really an addition to my overall technical director role.
“It’s been a brilliant experience since I took on the role, the combination of long-term planning and contributing to our strategic goals, with the opportunity to still be close to the team and management.”
Despite scoring just one goal from corners all season, Fletcher praised the impact of Eric Ramsay, who joined the coaching staff last year from Chelsea with a focus to improve us from dead ball situations.
Fletcher added: “People only give the one narrative about scoring from set-pieces. The biggest reason Eric was brought in was because we were conceding too many goals from set-pieces.
“We have really improved our defending from set-pieces and wide free-kicks this season. Eric is a fantastic coach.”
United conceded 14 set-piece goals in the Premier League last season (0.37 per game). This season, it’s five in 27 (0.19 per game).
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