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Darren Fletcher: 'Roy Keane was completely right to criticise me'

Fletcher: 'Keane was right to criticise me'
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Darren Fletcher believes that Roy Keane was "completely right" to criticise him for his performance in a video which ended the Irishman's Manchester United career.

Darren Fletcher has said that Roy Keane was "completely right" to criticise him for his performance in a video which ended the Irishman's Manchester United career.

Sir Alex Ferguson sacked Keane after footage showed the former captain slam his team's performance in a 4-1 defeat to Middlesborough in 2005.

Rio Ferdinand and Kieran Richardson were also singled out for heavy criticism in the infamous MUTV video entitled 'Roy Keane plays the pundit'.

Fletcher told Utd Podcast: "Well, first things first, the headlines that came out of it. Roy Keane watched the game and gave an analyst's view of it, so some of the words he used were in reference to an action in the game.

"So, for example, if he was talking about somebody's defending in the moment then he called it 'lazy defending' and the headline in the paper was: 'Roy Keane calls that player lazy', so I think it a lot of it had been misconstrued.

"For me, I saw it as him saying about instances in the game, in terms of it not being good enough for me, and he was completely right.

"It was Roy Keane challenging me as Manchester United captain and it was something I was used to in the dressing room."

The former Scotland midfielder added: "The long and short of it is that I knew Roy Keane liked me and that was his way of showing he liked me, because he knew I was capable of more and wanted to challenge me.

"He would say 'yes, I was little bit harsh there on Fletch but it's because I like him and want him to do well'.

"So, for me, it was no problem at all. But I can see why Sir Alex Ferguson had a problem with the interview.

"The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. It is not as bad as people think, but, at the same time, a manager had to make a decision based on what he thinks is best for the good of the team."

Fletcher went on following the incident to win five league titles at the Red Devils before signing for West Bromwich Albion in 2015.

The 35-year-old then joined Stoke City in 2017 but was released at the end of last season and is currently without a club.

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