Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag declined to take responsibility for his side's lack of consistency this season, instead claiming "no team" could deal with the sort of issues they have faced off the field.
Injuries have proven to be a significant problem for Ten Hag, who also found himself embroiled in a public bust-up with winger Jadon Sancho that saw the England international banished and added to the transfer list.
In the background, United have also had to contend with the uncertainty of the INEOS takeover, which has rumbled on for over a year but is finally nearing a conclusion.
After Saturday's dismal 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest, Ten Hag claimed the injury problems were responsible for his side's failure to maintain any semblance of form.
"We have to make our performances consistent and have to do better," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "A game is 90 minutes and we have to invest from the first minute on. We are hopeful that many players will be back in the new year and they will strengthen the team and the squad.
"We know the reasons why it is not working. No team can deal with so many issues and injuries we have had. We should still have done better and we have depth in the squad. When you have so many injuries, the depth is not enough."
The latest addition to United's treatment table was striker Rasmus Hojlund, who missed the Forest game through illness. Fellow forward Anthony Martial has also been unwell for several weeks.
In Hojlund's absence, Marcus Rashford started in attack and scored United's equaliser against Nuno Espirito Santo's side, but the Red Devils were sloppy in defence as they handed Morgan Gibbs-White a late winner.
"The result is clear. It's disappointing," Ten Hag reflected. "Losing 1-0, you get a comeback and we were good but in a counter moment, we gave a goal away.
"The loss was unnecessary. We lost it in the first half. We weren't energised enough or invested enough.
"I thought against Villa we played well in the first half, we conceded from set plays. We should invest more in the first half.
"In the second we were better. In the first half we should have created some moments and we didn't. We know these results are below our standards."
