Wednesday’s briefing: Ferguson backs Fletcher and Rosenior takes Chelsea job | OneFootball

Sir Alex Ferguson gave his seal of approval to Darren Fletcher taking over as Manchester United’s interim head coach following Ruben Amorim’s sacking.

Chelsea rubber-stamped Liam Rosenior as their new head coach, with the 41-year-old Englishman putting pen to paper on a deal that runs until 2032 as he replaces Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Nuno Espirito Santo had a sour run-in with former club Nottingham Forest as West Ham’s woes deepen.

Fletcher finds favour with Ferguson

Darren Fletcher asked for Sir Alex Ferguson’s blessing before taking on the role of interim Manchester United head coach.

Ferguson is the last United manager to have masterminded a Premier League triumph back in 2013 and Fletcher spoke to his former boss before temporarily stepping up from under-18s coach for Wednesday’s trip to Burnley and perhaps beyond.

“I wanted to run it by him, what he thought, and he was supportive of it and he echoed my thoughts which I’ve always said – it’s your job to do the best for Manchester United,” Fletcher said.

The Press Association understands United have spoken to former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and ex-midfielder Michael Carrick about the interim manager’s role.

Rosenior named new Blues boss

Chelsea have appointed Liam Rosenior as their new head coach on a deal until 2032.

The 41-year-old revealed earlier on Tuesday morning during a farewell press conference at Ligue 1 club Strasbourg that he had “verbally agreed” to replace Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge.

The deal was rubber-stamped soon after as he returns to English football following previous spells in charge at Derby and Hull.

Rosenior said on the club’s official website: “To be entrusted with this role means the world to me and I want to thank all involved for the opportunity and faith in undertaking this job. I will give everything to bring the success this club deserves.”

West Ham woes deepen in defeat to Forest

West Ham’s Premier League survival hopes took another major blow after slipping to a 2-1 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.

The Hammers will point to two controversial VAR decisions, a disallowed goal for offside and a late penalty award converted by Morgan Gibbs-White for Forest’s winner.

But ultimately they came off second best to a team just as bad as them and where the gap to safety would have been just one point with a victory over Sean Dyche’s side, it is now seven.

Defeat may have been particularly painful for Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who led Forest into European football before being abruptly sacked in the early stages of this campaign.

Dias adds to City injury struggles

Manchester City will be without defender Ruben Dias for up to six weeks, manager Pep Guardiola has said.

The centre-back was forced off with a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw against Chelsea.

The news comes after it was confirmed on Monday that fellow defender Josko Gvardiol was facing a lengthy lay-off with a broken leg, with John Stones, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Oscar Bobb and Mateo Kovacic also missing either through fitness problems or international duty.

“It’s hamstring, four to six weeks,” Guardiola said of Dias at a press conference to preview Wednesday’s clash with Brighton.

O’Neill uncertain of Celtic future

Martin O’Neill admits he does not know if he would “have the energy” to stay on as Celtic boss past the end of the season.

The 73-year-old has returned to the Glasgow club following the departure of Wilfried Nancy, 33 days after making way for the Frenchman following an interim spell in which he won seven out of eight matches.

Former Republic of Ireland boss O’Neill has been installed until the end of the campaign, but is not certain he would be able to push himself on again past the summer.

“I can’t see that for a start and I genuinely can’t. I don’t know whether I would have the energy and all that type of stuff,” O’Neill said on talkSPORT when asked if he would feel like staying on should the campaign finish on a positive.

What’s on today

Manchester City take on Brighton looking to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to three points, while Aston Villa could do likewise when they travel to Crystal Palace.

Fletcher steps into the United hotseat for the first time at Turf Moor against Burnley although Liam Rosenior will have a watching brief when Chelsea visit Fulham, with under-21 coach Calum McFarlane continuing to lead the Blues.