Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick has hinted at fitness issues for the players.
After bowing out of the FA Cup at home to Middlesbrough and being held at Burnley in the Premier League, the out-of-sorts Red Devils again started well only to draw 1-1 against Southampton on Saturday.
“To be honest, I don't know if we are not fit enough in order to play that way because, as you said, I came in the middle of the season," the German said ahead of Tuesday's match against Brighton.
“We had no pre-season (together) and in essence only maybe two weeks in total in between where we could train in a normal way.
“If I watched the team in training and the way that it's being prepared for games, I wouldn't allow myself to say we are not fit enough to play like that.
“I don't think that this is the case because then we would also struggle in the last 20 minutes of the game and both against Burnley and (on Saturday) in the game I think we showed that we were physically able to again play forward.
“We didn't always take the right decisions, we were not as composed and not structured enough in the way that we played in the first half compared to the last half-hour.
“We were a little bit erratic in those moments. I would have wished us to stay a bit calmer and cooler but we had the chances.
“So, I don't think that this is a question of physicality with regard to fitness but, yes, it might well be.
“As I said, the players that we have are technical players, they like to play technical football but in the Premier League no matter against which team – even more so against teams like Southampton – you cannot win games only in a technical way. You also have to show some physicality."
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