Manchester United youngster Shea Lacey was sent-off in the final minutes of their defeat to Brighton but Darren Fletcher has leapt to the teenager’s defence after his emotional reaction
Manchester United caretaker boss Darren Fletcher admits Shea Lacey is “disappointed because he cares” after the teenager was sent-off in the final stages of the defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup.
Lacey, still only 18, was bought on just after the hour mark but was sent-off before the 90 minutes were up having picked up two yellows. The second came after he was frustrated with a decision and subsequently threw the ball away.
He looked stunned when referee Simon Hooper wandered over and gave him his marching orders. It came minutes after Benjamin Sesko had pulled a goal back for the hosts, but their momentum was halted when they went down a man.
Lacey took off his shirt as he walked towards the tunnel, covering his face, with Fletcher insisting the young star will learn from the experience as he tipped him for a big future. He said: “He’s disappointed because he cares and he understands and he knows he will learn from it.
“There is no doubt about his talent and it was a steep learning curve today but we believe in Shea. He’s one of our most exciting young prospects and I’m sure at Old Trafford he will have a chance to make amends for that in the future.”
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Fletcher also felt that Lacey was particularly hard done by to be booked, taking issue with the amount of fouls committed by the Seagulls that went unpunished. “Shea Lacey’s yellow card is ridiculous compared to the fouls that we had against us all game which ultimately then the lad makes a mistake and is sent off. For me it is poor refereeing,” he claimed.
Lacey has taken to social media, owning his momentary lapse. He said: “I want to apologise to all of my teammates staff and the fans. I let everybody down tonight I shouldn’t let my emotions get the better of me I will do everything I can to make this right”.
The loss on Sunday could prove to be Fletcher’s last in charge with the caretaker boss set to be replaced by an interim head coach. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the favourite to return and see the team through until the end of the season.
Fletcher admitted after the reverse that he was dealing with players who are lacking in confidence – but challenged them produce. He said: “I think you could see the players are fragile but they’ve got to respond. Confidence is one of the most powerful things in football so when you don’t have it, you have to dig deep and then the confidence comes back.
“It’s over to them, they need to make sure that they have got a lot to play for this season. This team is still good enough to achieve success this season but they have to dig deep.”
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