Summary

Your views before FA Cup weekend

  1. Recap: Fletcher news conferencepublished at 16:30 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    So there you have it. That's everything from Darren Fletcher's news conference.

    If you are just joining us, here is a quick recap of what Manchester United's interim manager had to say:

  2. 'It's a trophy we should be trying to win'published at 16:27 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Manchester United celebrate winning the 2024 FA CupImage source, Getty Images

    A final word from Manchester United interim manager Darren Fletcher on the FA Cup: "It's an important competition and Manchester United are about winning trophies and I think we've had good success in the competition in recent years.

    "We won it a couple of years ago, and lost in the final. It's an amazing competition, it's the first trophy I won as a player. It's a special tournament. And you know, with the season so far, not in Europe, out of the League Cup, the FA Cup is a trophy we should be vying to win and giving ourselves every opportunity to win."

  3. 'We conceded one shot on target and drew 2-2'published at 16:20 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Jaidon Anthony celebrates scoring for Burnley against Manchester UnitedImage source, Getty Images

    Manchester United interim boss Darren Fletcher on struggling to keep hold of leads and confidence in the squad: "It’s just feedback, talking to them, paint a picture of what to expect and how to deal with disappointments in games. We video reviewed the game against Burnley and there are some key details in that.

    "It’s a constant thing over time - videos, conversations, coaching on the training ground.

    "Going on a run where you deal with those situations, handling disappointment in football is everything, on and off the pitch. Nothing is going to be perfect.

    "People are striving for perfection. Look at the game the other night, we conceded one shot on goal, another off target and drew 2-2. You’ve got to be able to deal with them constantly."

  4. 'Same players available'published at 16:18 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Darren Fletcher on whether Noussair Mazraoui or Bryan Mbeumo could return for Manchester United against Brighton after coming home from the Africa Cup of Nations: "I don't think so - it's too close a turnaround. So we'll have the same players available we had against Burnley, no new additions."

  5. get involved

    Get Involved - 'Let Fletch have it until end of season'published at 16:16 GMT 9 January

    Click 'Get Involved' to have your say

    Let Fletch have it until the end of the season. Interim managers have no authority because everyone knows they’re gone come the summer. Look at Ralf Rangnick.

    Harrison

  6. Postpublished at 16:16 GMT 9 January

    Right - now you can watch Darren Fletcher. Click 'Watch live' on this page.

  7. 'No conversations' - Fletcher on his Man Utd futurepublished at 16:13 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Manchester United interim manager Darren Fletcher after Wednesday's 2-2 draw against BurnleyImage source, Getty Images

    Manchester United interim boss Darren Fletcher on whether he has spoken to Sir Jim Ratcliffe since stepping into his current role: "I’ve not, no. I speak to Omar [Berrada] and Jason [Wilcox], that’s how the process works. For me, I've been focusing on the job in hand. There have been no thoughts from me on my future. I lead the team, guide the team, there’s been no conversations outside of those two people."

  8. Watch: Follow Fletcher's news conferencepublished at 16:11 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    For those who want to watch Darren Fletcher's news conference, a stream of his news conference is almost available to follow at the top of this page.

    Just click on the play icon - you can watch him imminently.

  9. 'I hope Walker's intent was to get the ball'published at 16:09 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Kyle Walker and Patrick Dorgu battle for the ballImage source, Getty Images

    Darren Fletcher on Patrick Dorgu not making a big deal when Kyle Walker appeared to "stamp" on him in Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Burnley: "Like Kyle [Walker] did when Martinez didn’t touch him. That’s the territory we’re in. But Patrick's such an honest guy, he wouldn't do that. It didn’t look great from Kyle’s point of view but I like him so I hope his intent was to get the ball. In the moment, Patrick thought it was Kyle's intention to get the ball.

    "VAR should have looked at it. They looked at the goal which was disallowed. Those two situations were massively influential in the game."

  10. 'This club is built around the academy'published at 16:07 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Manchester United interim manager Darren Fletcher on the club's academy: "I think historically this club is built around the academy, we've got an amazing academy, our record speaks for itself.

    "I can’t stand here and say anything other than that. We’ve got an amazing record which is hard to beat. We have some amazing players with some amazing talent, what I see is a lot of hard work, humble, young players who aren’t perfect because they’re young and learning.

    "We ask too much of young people in society at times, and in general. We have to let them learn, educate them, help them, understand they will make mistakes.

    "With good guidance, all of us play a part in developing them to be Manchester United players and people. My working with them as individuals and throughout the academy I deal with hard-working, honest and coachable, super-talented kids.

    "We have a lot of talent in our academy and hopefully they can showcase themselves like Shea [Lacey] did."

  11. Decision 'not made' on Maguire returnpublished at 16:06 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Darren Fletcher on defender Harry Maguire's potential return from injury: "He’s been out for a while. We're looking at his load, that decision has not been made. When you see the players coming back, you saw with Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes, there has to be some understanding with their first minutes. We might have to be a little careful with that process to build back."

  12. Mainoo 'comfortable' at Man Utdpublished at 16:04 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Manchester United midfielder Kobbie MainooImage source, Getty Images

    Right, Manchester United interim manager Darren Fletcher is talking now.

    Here is his first answer, on midfielder Kobbie Mainoo: "He seems in a good place. Kobbie doesn’t give you much, so never really know if he's in a good place or not. He’s like that, it’s just his natural way, but I know him well, I’ve seen him around the building and had conversations with him.

    "He’s in a good place, I know Kobbie and I think he knows me. He’s comfortable with his environment. He's in a good place, he’s trained well."

  13. Man Utd need to get their season moving forwardpublished at 16:03 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Simon Stone
    BBC Sport Manchester United reporter

    While most of the debate around Manchester United since Ruben Amorim's explosive post-match press conference at Leeds concentrated on his future, and then the fall-out from his dismissal, it is worth remembering the club has a season to salvage.

    Six points dropped from meetings with struggling Wolves, Leeds and Burnley has left United seventh in the Premier League. With matches against Manchester City and Arsenal to come, it is clearly possible they could drop into the bottom half of the table by the end of the month.

    That would place their stated aim of European qualification under major threat.

    A repeat of the 2024 FA Cup final win would be a route back into Europe, as it did for Erik ten Hag.

    There is a long route ahead though and Brighton are difficult third-round opponents.

    Don't forget, United's other cup tie this season ended in defeat to League Two Grimsby.

  14. Cunha hoping for five in a rowpublished at 16:02 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Matheus Cunha celebratesImage source, Getty Images

    Will Matheus Cunha star for Manchester United on Sunday?

    The Brazilian has scored in each of his past four FA Cup appearances, all for Wolves. Only four Premier League players have scored in five in a row since 1992-93.

    They are Marc Overmars (1998-1999), Darren Bent (2012-2014), Wayne Rooney (2011-2013) and Romelu Lukaku (twice in both 2014-2016 and 2017-2018).

  15. Man Utd's manager searchpublished at 15:56 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Simon Stone
    BBC Sport Manchester United reporter

    Still no update from Manchester United on who is to become their caretaker boss.

    I have been told the club regard Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick as managers in their own right, so a reprise of their old manager and coach relationship is thought to be unlikely.

    There is also a feeling the nuts and bolts might drag on into next week rather than everything being in place for Monday morning and the start of the build-up to next Saturday's Manchester derby.

    In the meantime, Darren Fletcher will speak to the media again before their FA Cup third-round tie with Brighton at Old Trafford.

    Fletcher has impressed senior club officials with the way he has handled the situation after taking over as interim boss following Ruben Amorim's dismissal on Monday.

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael CarrickImage source, Getty Images
  16. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 15:53 GMT 9 January

    Click on 'Get involved' at the top of this page

    I hope he gets permission from Sir Alex first!

    Gary, Ireland

  17. Man Utd's perfect FA Cup record against Brightonpublished at 15:52 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    Manchester United have faced Brighton in six previous FA Cup ties and have been victorious in all of them, most recently in the 2022-23 semi-final, winning 7-6 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

    Brighton might have been eliminated from the FA Cup six times by United, the most they’ve ever been knocked out by one side, but that doesn't tell the full story.

    The Seagulls took United to a replay twice in the 1980s, most famously in the 1983 final, when they came close to providing a huge upset in an initial 2-2 draw, before losing the second encounter 4-0 at Wembley.

    Back to the present day, and Brighton have in fact won three of their last four visits to Old Trafford – all in the Premier League – but did lose 4-2 there earlier this season.

    Wort Weghurst scoresImage source, Getty Images
  18. Watch: Darren Fletcher news conferencepublished at 15:47 GMT 9 January

    Man Utd v Brighton (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

    Manchester United

    We will be hearing from Manchester United's interim manager Darren Fletcher next.

    He has already faced the media, so we can bring you his quotes very soon. Our coverage will also include a video stream of his news conference, which will be available from 16:15 GMT.

    Just click on the play icon at the top of this page, when it appears, to watch along.

  19. Weather update: First FA Cup fixture postponedpublished at 15:38 GMT 9 January

    Last weekend saw a number of games in the EFL postponed due to snow and frozen pitches.

    In total, 17 fixtures were postponed across the Championship, League One and League Two and with the weather remaining icy we could see something similar again this weekend.

    Already a pair of League Two fixtures have been postponed that were scheduled for tomorrow - Oldham v Notts County and Chesterfield v Colchester are to be rearranged due to unplayable pitches.

    And just a couple hours ago, Salford City's FA Cup tie against Swindon Town was also postponed due to a frozen pitch.

    Cambridge United also announced they have a pitch inspection at midday tomorrow for their FA Cup tie against Birmingham City scheduled for 17:45 GMT.

    The four FA Cup games scheduled for this evening are set to go ahead, but it'll be worth keeping an eye out for any club announcements if you have plans to attend a match either tonight or across the weekend.

    The outside of Carrow Road with snow around itImage source, Getty Images