Jason Wilcox can bring clarity to a Manchester United role that nobody understands

When Rio Ferdinand bumped into Darren Fletcher in the Carrington gym recently while filming a feature on Manchester United for TV, he asked his former teammate the question he claimed all his mates wanted to know: 'What, exactly, is your role then?'

It wasn't aimed to belittle Fletcher or to downplay his contributions at United, but in football's modern world of made-up job titles, technical director doesn't really describe the former midfielder's work within the confines of Carrington. This has been a talking point for a couple of years now, one that Fletcher attempted to nip in the bud with an explanation during Ralf Rangnick's ill-fated spell, when he had the tracksuit on and became a more visible presence on matchday.

Now, he sits in the stands during games and reports down to the dugout, but he is still active at Carrington during training sessions. So when quizzed by Ferdinand for the TNT Sports feature, he referred to his job title but offered up a description that didn't really fit.

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"Technical director is my title, but for me, I'm part of the first-team coaching staff, but as a support coach," he said. "My link with the first team is a link for the under-21s, so the pathway of the young players training with the first team."

As Ineos rip up the football structure at Old Trafford it remains to be seen where Fletcher is going to slot in, but his job title is now set to go to Jason Wilcox, with United approaching Southampton to appoint their director of football. With Dan Ashworth set to come in as sporting director, Wilcox will report to the former