01-01-2010, 09:35 PM
Darren Fletcher is happy to help out anywhere in the Manchester United cause - but the Scotland star is hugely relieved the Red Devils are starting to get some defenders back.
With up to eight men injured at times over the past six weeks, Fletcher was one of the men Sir Alex Ferguson called on to help ease United through the crisis.
An appearance at right-back was not entirely unusual given Fletcher did the job for a short while. But when it came to occupying one of the positions in a three-man defence that also included Michael Carrick and rookie Ritchie De Laet at Fulham, Fletcher's lack of experience was exposed.
The demolition at Craven Cottage that day was viewed by many as the end of United's title hopes. Instead they managed to get Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic on to the pitch at Hull and again on Wednesday when they featured against Wigan and the impact was immediate.
Successive wins have cut Chelsea's lead at the top to two points, slashed the Blues' goal difference advantage by seven and restored a feeling of optimism to Old Trafford.
"I am glad the defenders are back," said Fletcher. "We were desperate for that. "It is okay in one-off games to have midfielders playing out of position. When it goes to a run of four or five games it is inevitable that mistakes are going to happen because it is not natural."
source: Eurosport
With up to eight men injured at times over the past six weeks, Fletcher was one of the men Sir Alex Ferguson called on to help ease United through the crisis.
An appearance at right-back was not entirely unusual given Fletcher did the job for a short while. But when it came to occupying one of the positions in a three-man defence that also included Michael Carrick and rookie Ritchie De Laet at Fulham, Fletcher's lack of experience was exposed.
The demolition at Craven Cottage that day was viewed by many as the end of United's title hopes. Instead they managed to get Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic on to the pitch at Hull and again on Wednesday when they featured against Wigan and the impact was immediate.
Successive wins have cut Chelsea's lead at the top to two points, slashed the Blues' goal difference advantage by seven and restored a feeling of optimism to Old Trafford.
"I am glad the defenders are back," said Fletcher. "We were desperate for that. "It is okay in one-off games to have midfielders playing out of position. When it goes to a run of four or five games it is inevitable that mistakes are going to happen because it is not natural."
source: Eurosport