“There aren’t many players left like him” were the words used by West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis after his sides’ massive 1-0 victory over Manchester United yesterday.

But who was he talking about?

Not goalscorer Soloman Rondon, nor controversial striker Saido Beharino. He was talking about his captain Darren Fletcher who, of course, spent a large part of his career at Old Trafford before making the move to West Brom at the start of the season.

But is Pulis right in his commendation of his captain based on the central-midfielder’s performance against his old club on Sunday? Probably, yes – Fletcher was very, very good.

Fletcher has single-handedly taken the pressure off his bosses’ shoulders this season and thanks to a number of commanding displays and his on-the-pitch leadership, he has taken to West Brom like a duck to water.

He’s a player they’ve been after for a while – a leader and a player whom the young players look up to and respect. And on Sunday against Manchester United, Fletcher arguably showed his old club what they were missing as they crumbled to another lacklustre defeat against a spirited Baggies side.

Fletcher, who suffered with ulcerative colitis between 2011-2015 rarely played for Manchester United between these years, thus prompting his move away from Old Trafford.

The Baggies were taking a risk on a player that had failed to be at full fitness for over four years, but the risk has paid off and Fletcher has been showing the West Brom faithful why he has over 225 appearances for the Red Devils and 70 caps for Scotland.

On Sunday he was commanding, assertive and confident. When Juan Mata was sent off for United, it was Darren Fletcher who single-handedly rallied his colleagues and convinced them that this was a great chance to get one over the former Premier League Champions.

Fletcher is brilliant at controlling the pace of the game. When the game needed to be taken up a notch, he instigated it but he also realised when the Baggies needed to take a step back and keep possession, making United chase for the ball in large parts of the game.

And that was always where the game was going to be won and lost – with the Baggies needing to make the most of their extra man. And they did it to great effect, especially as the game went on. They controlled possession and gave United’s youngsters a lesson in chasing the ball.

But the biggest contrast was the performance of former United man Fletcher, and their current midfielder pairing of Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick. Many know United wouldn’t have been at their best because of the sending off, but they still have enough quality in that team to get the job done.

But the performance of Fletcher compared to Michael Carrick was quite startling and the Scotsman had his former team-mate in his pocket for the entirety of the game.

Take note United – getting schooled by your former player.

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