Darren Fletcher will remain in temporary charge for Manchester United’s FA Cup tie with Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, and the club does not expect to name an interim manager until after that fixture. Club sources have indicated an interim appointment is likely to follow the weekend match, with former United figures under consideration.

Among those mentioned as possible candidates are Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Michael Carrick, while Ruud van Nistelrooy has also been named as an alternative. Fletcher confirmed the immediate plan following Wednesday’s 2–2 draw with Burnley.

“They’ve informed me they’d like me to take the team for Sunday,” Fletcher told the media after Wednesday’s 2–2 draw with Burnley.

“There was a feeling that might have been the case from Monday, but we wanted to focus on Burnley. I’m tasked with leading the team on Sunday, so all my focus and energy goes to that now.”

There had been hope the club might confirm a new interim coach in the coming days, but Fletcher said officials had asked him to prepare for the Brighton match as well.

Frustration among supporters over the original decision to appoint Amorim has been growing, and the situation has exposed signs of uncertainty at boardroom level towards the Portuguese boss.

For former United defender Gary Neville, the club’s pattern of interim solutions and returning to familiar faces is a recurring theme. “They put Ryan [Giggs] in charge 10 years ago, then Ole came in charge and you go back to the old boys, then you go for a new one, then you go for more experience,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

“It is almost like a cycle, like a movie we have all seen before and Groundhog Day. What I do think is Ole is someone who absolutely loves the club, he knows the job, he has been in the job.

“The other names that have been mentioned—Michael Carrick, Ruud van Nistelrooy—these are really fantastic people. I trained with those guys for a lot of years.

“They love the club intensely, they get the club, but still they are going to come under a lot of pressure in this next four or five months if results don’t go their way and they are going to have to be ready for that.

“Whoever is going to get it out of those three who are being mentioned, I wish them all the best because it is a tough role.”

Manchester United expect the events around Ruben Amorim’s dismissal to have little effect on their January recruitment plans, according to reports. Interest in Antoine Semenyo remains opportunistic because of a £65 million release clause, but Semenyo’s preference for Manchester City, over the Red Devils and other rumoured suitors, will not force United into an alternative deal.

Reports add that “no meaningful change” to the club’s transfer strategy will come as a result of Amorim’s exit. The decision to delay significant buying now is framed as a way to preserve budget for the summer, when targets such as Elliot Anderson, Carlos Baleba and Adam Wharton could command nine-figure fees.

Amorim had expressed frustration on Christmas Eve, saying: “I have the feeling that if we have to play a perfect 3-4-3 we need to spend a lot of money and need time. I’m starting to understand that is not going to happen.” He refused to clarify those comments only three days before losing his job.

The reported strategy emphasises recruitment control resting with director of football Jason Wilcox and a club-led approach, rather than being driven solely by an individual first-team manager. That balance is said to have been a factor in a sudden breakdown in the relationship between Wilcox and Amorim, which contributed to Amorim’s exit.

Caretaker manager Darren Fletcher, and whichever interim boss follows until the end of the season—Ole Gunnar Solskjær has thrown his hat into the ring and Michael Carrick is linked—are expected to work with the squad as it stands to find more consistent results. Attention will focus on the team Fletcher selects for the Premier League match with Burnley and the formation he chooses.

Amorim spent more than a year trying to shape a 3-4-2-1, with Patrick Dorgu a signing aimed at that system, but he reverted to a 4-2-3-1 for the December visit of Newcastle United. Much of the squad is judged to be well suited to a conventional 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3.

Manchester United dismissed Ruben Amorim on Monday after a 14-month spell that included 23 defeats and a series of public confrontations with the club hierarchy. The manner of his exit prompted criticism from across the Premier League and drew commentary from rival managers.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank, who has himself faced questions over his future after six months in charge, argued that the top clubs reach sustained success through continuity. He called for patience from owners and executives as clubs try to build long-term projects.

“I think it’s just another example from my point of view that it’s very difficult to achieve sustainable success if you change key personnel in clubs, like the head coach, like the sporting directors,” Frank told assembled media on the day of Amorim’s departure. “I think if you think you have the right ones and you’re aligned, you need to do it over a long time.

“So now it’s two clubs with one-and-a-half years. Again, I’m not judging it, I’m just saying that’s actually the facts in that sense, there could be many reasons for it, I just don’t know.

In this fantastic, beautiful football world, you win one day and play well, you’re in heaven, you lose and you don’t play that well, you’re in hell.

“The best clubs, they are aligned, ownership, leadership and head coach, over time, and you keep the noise out, and you look at the progress behind it. It goes up and down, and hopefully over time, more and more up, then you achieve something big together. The three biggest, latest examples of that, of course, are Liverpool , [Manchester] City and Arsenal.”

United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe had earlier cited Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta as a model of longevity. Amorim’s tenure ended after he openly questioned the club’s hierarchy and pleaded for greater influence over transfers.

Pep Guardiola, while cautious, offered his support. “I can’t say anything out of respect for the players and the institutions of Chelsea and Manchester United,” Guardiola revealed on Tuesday, referencing Enzo Maresca’s recent ousting in west London . “All I can say is Ruben is a top manager. The decision has been made by our neighbours but I wish Ruben all the best for the future.”

West Ham United’s Nuno Espírito Santo added a personal note: “Like everybody, I was surprised and sad,” he grimly reflected on Monday. “He is Portuguese [like me]. He is a young manager, but this is what it is—I think we are aware that this is how the industry works.”