Story by‘Bitterly disappointed’ Darren Fletcher says Man Utd players ‘need to step up’Hayters TVSun, January 11, 2026 at 8:40 PM UTC·2 min readManchester United interim manager Darren Fletcher has admitted that he is ‘bitterly disappointed’ following their early FA Cup exit. The Reds lost 2-1 at home to Brighton in the third round of the competition. It means they have been knocked out of both domestic cups at the first time of asking. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Well, bitterly disappointed because we are out of the FA Cup,” reflected Fletcher. “I think the players shared the reaction at the end and deservedly so.“But they’re going to have to pick themselves up and recover because we’ve got a big game next week.”Without European football this season, United will play just 40 games, and have no hopes of landing silverware.“That is where we’re at,” admitted Fletcher.