Darren Fletcher admitted the thrill of captaining Manchester United was tempered by their painful Capital One Cup semi-final defeat to Sunderland.

Fletcher was the only United player to score from five penalty kicks after the match finished 3-3 on aggregate.

But the 29-year-old, making his eighth appearance since returning from long-term injury, conceded that the honour of wearing the armband was diminished by the outcome.

"It's a great moment to be captain, don't get me wrong, but it's disappointing because it means nothing now that we didn't get to the final," he said.

"As I said, it's a nice moment but it's tainted a lot by not winning the match."