| Darren Fletcher hails return of Manchester United's key defenders • Fletcher pleased Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic are back• 'It was important we got them fit because they are class'Darren Fletcher is happy to help out anywhere in the Manchester United cause – but the Scotland captain is hugely relieved the Premier League champions 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 players 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 the rookie Ritchie De Laet at Fulham, Fletcher's lack of experience was exposed – the 3-0 defeat that day severely denting United's title hopes.However, Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic both returned to action at Hull on 27 December and again against Wigan on Wednesday and the impact was immediate. Successive wins have cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the table to two points, slashed the London club's 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 OK 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."Although the defeat at Craven Cottage was damaging, Fletcher believes the makeshift backline was at the root of United's struggles. "It is not as if we are doing it in training or in the Sunday League," he said. "You are talking about Premier League and Champions League matches and you are in a position you have never played in during your entire life. It is very difficult."We went to Fulham with basically just one defender fit in Patrice [Evra]. It was important for the team that we got our defenders back fit because they are top-class."While Fletcher will still be on standby to fill in for another couple of weeks, once Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand return to duty he should be free to concentrate on his midfield exploits. For now, though, he is concentrating on his first Old Trafford meeting with Leeds.The Yorkshire club have always shared a fierce rivalry with their traditional Roses rivals and with 9,000 fans accompanying them across the M62, it promises to be a heated occasion, on and off the field. After that United face Manchester City in the Carling Cup before the Premier League battle resumes again at Birmingham on 9 January."Everyone looks ahead and speaks about the Christmas period but the matches we are into now straight afterwards are just as important," said Fletcher. "I just take each game as it comes and think all the other players do the same thing."You can look too far ahead of yourself and start thinking about what is to come whether you have an easy run of games. But it never works out like that. We have the FA Cup, the Carling Cup semi-final and then more important league games. The best thing to do is try to win them all."Manchester UnitedPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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