Steven Fletcher helped to turn Jacob Brown into a Scotland international.
Now the veteran marksman wants to be a guiding light for Dundee United’s talented Terrors.
Fletcher, 35, played alongside Brown at Stoke City for two campaigns and was always willing to give the forward guidance and advice; always gratefully received.
Brown has notched 20 goals since arriving at the Bet365 Stadium in 2020. Prior to that, his career total with Chesterfield and Barnsley stood at 12.
That form caught the eye of Scotland boss Steve Clarke, who handed the Halifax-born forward his international bow against Moldova in 2021.
He has gone on to win four caps.
Now sharing a dressing room with the likes of Logan Chalmers, Miller Thomson, Rory MacLeod and Matty Cudjoe, Fletcher’s mentorship will be more valuable than ever.
“I did a lot of work with Jacob Brown last season and saw his game come on leaps and bounds,” said Fletcher. “If he says I didn’t help him get his Scotland call up I won’t be happy!
“He’s a sponge, he just wants to listen and take it all in.
“Speaking to the gaffer here [Jack Ross], the club has a lot of very good young lads here and I want to do the same for them.
“The older I get, the more I want to help young players. When I was a young lad, I was cheeky and I’d answer back, but I loved listening to the older players.
“A lot of them probably thought to themselves, ‘he just didn’t listen to a word I said!’ But I did — I always wanted to improve my game.
“And there is a point in your career when people start listening to you.
“When you see the improvements in young players, doing the things you’ve advised them to do, it gives you a little buzz.”
Learning to adapt
Reflecting on the sounding boards he learned from as a Hibs youngster, a few surprising names crop up — as well as plenty of established talent from a fine career in Scotland, England and France.
“When I was at Hibs it was Garry [O’Connor] and Derek Riordan — although folk will ask what I was listening to them for! But they were great looking after me. So was Steven Thompson when I went to Burnley.
“At Wolves, there was Kevin Doyle, who I loved sitting listening to and learning from.
“How they received the ball; what they did with it; how they moved — you listen to it and you adapt.”
Fletcher added: “It’s also about leading by example. I was lively in my younger days but something just clicks and you realise you have to make changes if you want to keep playing.
“I did that, cut a lot of things out and felt the benefit of it.”
Hunger
Indeed, Fletcher cuts a lean, determined figure as he chats to the travelling press corps during United’s summer training camp in Marbella.
The former Hibs, Burnley, Wolves, Sunderland and Marseille man has played 82 games in the past two seasons with Stoke City and had options to remain in England.
However, a mix of family reasons, coaching aspirations and a burning desire to return to Scotland after 13 years away saw him make the switch to Tannadice.
And his passion is undiminished.
“I still have the hunger and desire, one hundred percent,” he added. “I love going out to train and still feel like an 18-year-old.
“People were asking why I was going back to Scotland instead of staying in England but I am at a different stage of my life now.
“I always had it in my head that I’d come up the road because I wanted to get my family settled.
“I want to move on to the next phase of my career, get into coaching and hopefully that’s something I can start looking towards.”
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