The Portuguese superstar departed Old Trafford in the summer.

Many predicted United would struggle to replace his goals, but Fletcher feels the gap is starting to be filled.

"Any team in the world would miss Cristiano," said Fletcher. "He's a fantastic player and a great goalscorer.

"He adapted so much when he was here. He went from being a silky winger to being a goalscoring winger and the best player in the world.

"Hopefully we can become a more-rounded team and other players will raise their game to cover the gap left by his absence.

"We need more goals from midfield and more goals from all the players. That will make us a stronger team, because we won't be as reliant on one player.

"Teams adapt when players leave, much as Cristiano was brilliant for us, the team sacrificed a lot for him too.

"As a midfielder, I knew that I couldn't go bombing forward because Cristiano had gone forward. I knew that I had to cover on the right so that the left-back and left midfielder couldn't double up on our full-back.

"Maybe now we're a lot more rigid 4-4-2, with everyone knowing their role. There are perhaps more opportunities for midfielders to get in the box and get goals.

"Other players will hopefully step up. Wazza springs to mind straight away and he's already banging the goals in.

"You could see at the start of this season that he was really hungry. He was in the shadows of Cristiano and often sacrificed himself for the greater need of the team.

"Now it's his time to become a bit more selfish and score the winning goals, while other players can also do a job, like Berba and Antonio."

Fletcher himself is emerging as a lynchpin in United's midfield and he relishes competing against the league's best.

"I love challenging myself against all the best players," he said. "I watch how good they are, but when we play them I think to myself 'right, I'm going to see how good you really are, Fabregas, Lampard and Gerrard. I'm going to get amongst you and see how you like it.

"And when you've not got the ball, I'm still going to get about you and see how you like it'.

"I'm going to ask you do you fancy it? Do you like getting kicked? Do you like the fact that I'm going to be at you for the whole 90 minutes? As soon as you get the ball I'm going to be in your face.

"You're not going to like it one bit. And when we have the ball, I'm going to run you into the corner and you're going to have to follow me. Are you ready for that? Because that's what's going to happen.

"That's my attitude and I don't feel I've come off second best to anyone this season."