DARREN Fletcher will not allow himself to get affected by his new tag as Manchester United's "big-game player".
Fletcher returned to action after a month's absence with an ankle injury for the 3-3 draw with CSKA Moscow on Tuesday night, just in time for Sunday's crucial Premier League showdown with Chelsea. And it would seem the Scot will be one of the first n
ames on Sir Alex Ferguson's team-sheet too.
Certainly, United missed Fletcher's battling qualities against Liverpool a fortnight ago and Ferguson is unlikely to leave his team similarly exposed at the weekend.
For a player whose early days in the Red Devils' first-team were dismissed rather crudely, the plaudits must sound nice. But Fletcher insists he is not taking them too seriously.
"I take the compliments with a pinch of salt," he said. "I enjoy these matches as much as anyone and I put pressure on myself to perform more than anyone does. The challenge of playing against the top-class players that Chelsea have is one I look forward to and I will be doing my best to win the match. But I am not going to make or break a game like this."
As someone who, during Jose Mourinho's time with the Blues, scored a winner against Chelsea at Old Trafford, Fletcher understands how tense such affairs can be. With the Londoners sitting on top of the Premier League table and United two points adrift in second, there is no reason to believe Sunday's showdown will be any less fraught.
"Sunday is a massive game. Games against Chelsea always are," he said. "It is not going to make or break who wins the league by any means, although it is an important benchmark. Maybe psychologically it might have an effect. But Chelsea are a top-class side and we will respect them."
It is seven years since United enjoyed the taste of victory at Stamford Bridge. They have managed a couple of draws there in the last three years, although they are split by the ill-tempered defeat in April 2008 which landed Patrice Evra with a four-match suspension.
Respective combatants from both sides are hoping for a less fractious affair this time around, with Fletcher purely focused on collecting three points.
"It would be good to win," he said. "We have had a couple of draws down there but we have still not managed to win in the league and we are desperate to do it. But we will go there with a game-plan and try to get a result."
Fletcher will hope to emerge from Tuesday night's outing in slightly better shape than he went in. His latest injury has been a frustrating one to recover from and he knows it will take a bit of time to regain full fitness. "It is nice to get back into the team and get 90 minutes under my belt because I have not played for a while," he said. "I felt fine, which was the most important thing, although I was not 100 per cent with my touch and awareness on the pitch. But the game will help and, if selected, I should feel the benefit on Sunday."
Meanwhile, Patrice Evra will return to the scene of his "battle with the groundsman" eager to put the controversy behind him. Evra still nurses a sense of injustice at the four-match ban he picked up following an FA investigation into his post-match spat with Chelsea groundsman Sam Bethell. But he is determined to put such negative vibes to one side in the search for victory.
"That story is the past," he said. "It is unfortunate that when I play against Chelsea, something always seems to happen. First it was the ground staff, then last year I had a bit of an argument with Michael Ballack. This year I have to make sure nothing happens because we need a result."
Evra had no hesitation in naming the Stamford Bridge outfit when asked who he regards as the biggest danger to the Red Devils' hopes of landing a fourth successive league championship. "Every year I think Chelsea will be our main rivals," he said. "I am not scared of them but I respect them and they are the most dangerous rivals. I said it last year and the year before and I think it this season as well."
And, just as Evra is clear in his mind who United's biggest danger will be, he is equally certain about their biggest dangermen. Those two familiar faces the French full-back knows so well.
"Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka are good friends of mine. And I know they are both great players," he said. "All the defenders need to focus because keeping a clean sheet will be the key to winning this game. We need to be strong because Drogba and Anelka are two big strikers. They are both so quick and strong, although I do feel we have enough quality to do our jobs."
Having the quality and being able to reproduce it are two different things, however, as anyone who watched United concede three times on Tuesday night would confirm.
