ROAR POWER ... Darren Fletcher
Manchester United midfield ace Fletcher gets a buzz out
of challenging himself against the best players in the Premier
League. The Scotland international said: "I don't want to sound
big-headed but I've never come up against anyone who has torn me to
shreds. "The only time that's happened has been in training against
Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.
"I watch how good Lampard, Fabregas and Gerrard are but
when we play them I think 'Right, I'm going to see how good you
really are!' "I'm going to get against you and see how you like it.
And when you've not got the ball I'm still going to get about you
and see how you like it. "I'm going to ask you 'Do you fancy it? Do
you like getting kicked? Do you like the fact I am going to be at
you for the whole 90 minutes?
" 'As soon as you get the ball I am going to be in your
face. You are not going to like it one bit. Are you ready for that
because that's what's going to happen'." Reigning Premier League
champions United do not face another member of the Big Four until
January 31 when they travel to arch rivals Arsenal. And you can bet
25-year-old Fletcher is counting down the days to that trip to the
Emirates.
He told fanzine United We Stand: "I love the big games.
I get excited before them and not a bit nervous. I'm determined to
make the most of them and test myself to my full ability.
"In my younger days, I would perhaps sit back in the
so-called lesser games. I'd let the lads go and play while covering
for them. "But in the big games I'd come out wanting the ball all
the time. I've had to learn to do that in every game, week in, week
out.
"I've made a conscious effort in the last couple of
years to play every game as if it's my last. If I'm going to stay
in the team, I believe I have to play like that."
Fletcher is one of the United players who has stepped
up to the plate following Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Real
Madrid. Life without the £80million World Footballer of the Year
took some getting used to but there were signs in the 3-0 win
against Everton on Saturday that United are finally starting to
cope.
Their goals all came from midfield from Fletcher,
Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia - with Fletch's the pick of
the bunch. He said: "Hopefully, we can become a more rounded team
and other players will raise their game to cover the gap left by
Cristiano.
"We're starting to see that, with Wayne Rooney banging
the goals in. We need more goals from midfield and more goals from
all the players. That will make us a stronger team because we won't
be as reliant on one player."
And Fletcher feels he has been let off the leash
following Ronaldo's summer exit for Madrid. He added: "Teams adapt
when players leave. Much as Cristiano was brilliant for us, the
team sacrificed a lot for him, too.
"As a midfielder, I knew I couldn't bomb forward
because Cristiano had gone forward. "I knew I had to cover on the
right so the left-back and left midfielder couldn't double up on
our full-back.
"Maybe now we're a lot more rigid 4-4-2, with everyone
knowing their role. There are more opportunities for midfielders to
get in the box and get goals."
