Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has refused to blame his players for failing to overcome struggling Swansea City in Sunday's Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Victory for the Red Devils would have seen them move above Manchester City and Liverpool into third position in the Premier League table entering the final four games of the 2016-17 campaign.
Gylfi Sigurdsson cancelled out a first-half Wayne Rooney penalty, however, as the points were shared in a 1-1 draw in Manchester.
Mourinho has claimed that his team "gave everything" against Swansea, but a growing injury list has made it difficult for the players to produce high performances on a consistent basis.
"We are tired and if some people want to analyse the performance itself that is one thing but you cannot analyse the performance out of the context, and the context is nine matches in April. This is the ninth match of April with a squad of 22 reduced to a squad of 13 or 14 and with players very, very, very tired," Mourinho told reporters.
"Did Ashley Young and Jesse Lingard look sharper than others? Of course. They didn't play the last match. We are in a very difficult situation but the boys gave absolutely everything.
"With them I am more than happy and I am intelligent and experienced enough not to isolate the performance form the context. Brave guys. They gave everything they could and Thursday we go again."
Next up for Man United is a trip to La Liga outfit Celta Vigo on Thursday night for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
Matt Law
