Fletch: Keano made me feel on top of the world

Roy Keane left Manchester United under a cloud not long after his interview with MUTV was stopped from being shown.

Among the list of players who were criticised by the former captain, Darren Fletcher was one on the receiving end of some particularly harsh comments. “I can’t understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher,” he said.

Fletcher has reflected on his time at United and claimed that, contrary to popular opinion, Keane did have a high opinion of him and the Irishman shaped his career more than any other player.

It frustrates me that some people think Roy didn’t rate me because he probably moulded me more than any other player I have known. He was hard on me but he was always fair. If he spoke to me 10 times, nine were compliments. If I was late, Roy would let me know. If my passing wasn’t on in training then Roy would let me know.

People remember the controversial stories and the times he went mental. But the rest of the time he made me feel on top of the world. What about the story where I’ve been out for two months and Roy says loudly, “I am glad this lad’s back. We have missed him”. That’s not a great story. It’s a better story to say, “Remember that time Roy nailed Fletch in the dressing room for looking at his phone”. That did happen, yeah. But it was rare and that was just about standards. It was his way of getting a message to everybody. That is what it was like at United.

I just watched Roy and learned, but above all of that I just liked him. I still like him. He was an unbelievable leader and a fantastic player, the best first touch I ever saw. I walked on the pitch next to him and knew we would be fine. That is leadership. It’s what I want to do for people at this club.