As Hearts and Dundee United manager, Craig Levein got the chance to manage some very good Scottish Premiership level players.
But when he stepped up to the Scotland national team’s hot seat in 2009, he was entering a totally different ballpark in regards to the quality at his disposal.
Granted, while it was a step up, Scotland weren’t the greatest of teams back then. Levein failed to qualify for Euro 2012 or the 2014 World Cup as boss, but that’s not to say there weren’t some excellent players to pick from.
Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher was certainly one of them and was an ever-present for Scotland around that time before being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
And Levein, speaking on Open Goal’s recent members only podcast, revealed that Fletcher – despite becoming a mainstay in a strong United team in the 2000s – is the most underrated player he has managed across his career so far.
The former St Johnstone boss was asked by current Motherwell star Andy Halliday if there was a player he managed who fans perhaps didn’t appreciate how good he actually was.
Levein hails former Man Utd star Darren Fletcher
Levein gave it some thought and eventually replied: “The guy who I actually admire the most out of any football player is probably Darren Fletcher, just because of the nature of the difficulties of his illness and the way he behaved as a person.
“Absolutely bang on in training even though he was having difficulties. He was at the front all the time and did everything properly.
Asked if he was vocal in the dressing room, Levein replied: “Aye, but not overly. He would say stuff to be said.
“Sometimes it can be difficult to separate the player from the person. You know, you like the player because you like the person.”
Fletcher’s incredible career
Fletcher joined Manchester United as a kid in 1995 and went on to make his first-team debut under the great Sir Alex Ferguson in 2003.
He made 342 appearances for the Old Trafford giants overall and won five Premier League titles, two major domestic cups and the Champions League in 2008.
Fletcher’s Scotland career was impressive too, but was unfortunately disrupted by his ulcerative colitis.
However, he went on to become captain of his country in 2009 and earned a whopping 80 caps, the joint-third highest ever, before retiring from Scotland duty in 2017.