After 14 months in charge, Ruben Amorim was dismissed by Manchester United on January 5.
While the club recovers from a rocky spell under Amorim's leadership, the Red Devils must press on with the Premier League season, beginning with Burnley away.
The midweek league game at Turf Moor is followed by an FA Cup third-round matchup with fellow top flight side Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on the weekend. These two matches will see a makeshift coaching group take charge of the team.
AllSportsPeople explains how United will press on in the short term as the 20-time English champions rebuild their managerial structure.
MORE: Why was Ruben Amorim sacked? | Amorim's explosive Leeds rant | Cost of Amorim's exit
Who is Man United manager vs. Burnley?
Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher will take charge for the match against Burnley on Wednesday, January 7.
The 41-year-old is likely to remain in charge as caretaker manager until an interim boss is assigned for the remainder of the season.
It's expected that United will not make a permanent hire until the 2025/26 season is completed, unless something unforeseen progresses before that time.
Fletcher's former teammate Jonny Evans has been earmarked to return to the coaching staff to assist this week.
Darren Fletcher manager career, coaching history
Born in Scotland, Fletcher made 342 appearances for Manchester United during his decorated playing days, winning five Premier League titles and one Champions League crown in a 20-year career under Sir Alex Ferguson.
After subsequent stints at West Brom and Stoke City, plus career 80 international caps for Scotland, Fletcher retired in 2019 and transitioned to coaching.
He returned to United's youth setup in October 2020, hired as the Under-16 coach. He was promoted to the first-team coaching staff in January 2021, concurrently serving as technical director until he was replaced in that role by Jason Wilcox in April 2024.
Fletcher made the move back to the youth setup as U-18 coach in July 2025, where he has been until being named caretaker in the wake of Amorim's departure.
Will Darren Fletcher be named permanent Man United boss?
While Fletcher is a candidate to be named permanent manager of United, a lot would have to happen for that to come to pass.
He would first have to impress as caretaker enough to earn the interim job for the rest of the season to consider him a true permanent option. Should he do that, then consideration about a long-term position could be brought forth.
Even then, hiring an individual with no senior managerial experience would be an enormous risk, one that United likely would be averse to after the disaster of Amorim's tenure.