“The manager realises who needs a rest. We need everyone ready
for this stage.” – Darren Fletcher
Darren Fletcher feels Sir Alex Ferguson did the right thing by
leaving a number of senior squad members out of Sunday’s FA Cup
semi-final defeat to Everton.
At a stage of the season where high-pressure games continue to
come thick and fast, Fletcher admits the United manager has bought
some potentially vital freshness for members of his squad – even if
they would have rather featured at Wembley.
“They won’t appreciate it, but deep down they’ll know it’s the
best thing,” Fletcher told ManUtd.com. “The manager knows what’s
best, he’s had years of experience.
“The lads want to play in every game, and that’s the good thing
about the squad – everyone wants to keep playing. As a player you
don’t like to admit tiredness, you just want to battle through it,
but the manager realises these things. He and the coaches will look
at the stats and know who’s ready for a rest.”
Fletcher missed Sunday’s penalty shoot-out defeat through
injury, but is back in contention for Wednesday’s Barclays Premier
League visit of Portsmouth – and the energetic midfielder admits
United’s squad cannot be too large for a packed run-in.
“We need everyone ready for this stage of the season now,” he
said. “We’re fighting for the league and the Champions League – you
can’t play the same team in every game. If you did, the freshness
wouldn’t be there because you play too many games.
“Nobody likes to be rested, they want to play in every game, but
you do realise now that it’s part and parcel of being at United,
and really of being a professional these days. It’s a squad
game.”
Sir Alex will inevitably freshen up his side again for tonight’s
visit of Portsmouth, and Fletcher – who may return after recovering
from his minor hamstring injury – is prepared for a difficult
encounter against a side which shocked Old Trafford last
season.
“Portsmouth are quite a physical team, they’ve had a lot of
changes in management and they’re just settling down now,” he said.
“They beat us in the FA Cup at Old Trafford last year, and we’ll
have to bear that in mind.
“But we know it’s going to be difficult, because at this stage
of the season teams are fighting for different things:
championships, Europe and avoiding relegation – so there are no
easy games.”
