Darren Fletcher has stood by his decision to reject Scotland boss George Burley's plea to miss Manchester United's Community Shield defeat against Chelsea.

Burley was desperate for the midfielder to sit out yesterday's match at Wembley in order to keep him fresh for Wednesday's crucial World Cup qualifier in Norway.

But Fletcher - who will captain his country in Oslo - feared losing his place in the United pecking order if he complied.

The 25-year-old, who started the game and came off with 15 minutes remaining, insisted he is fit and ready to help Scotland in arguably their most important match for two years.

He said in the Daily Record: "I'm feeling good. The Scotland manager obviously asked me about not playing but I want to play as many games as I can.

"I've got to try to win a place in the United team and there is a lot of competition around the squad.

"I don't want to be skipping United games but I was always going to be available for Scotland. That was always going to be the case.

"There was never any doubt. But I've also always got to concentrate on my club career and they both go hand in hand."