Moyes tries to lift gloom

Manchester - Beleaguered Manchester United manager David Moyes has vowed that his side would soldier on after they were stunned 2-1 by Swansea City in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.

Moyes has already seen United fall 11 points off the pace in the Premier League and they have now lost successive home games for the second time this term, having lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

United visit Sunderland on Tuesday for the first leg of their League Cup semi-final and with the Champions League their only other viable source of silverware this season, Moyes says his players must keep looking forward.

"If you lose games at any club, it's always difficult. At Manchester United, it's even bigger," he told BT Sport.

"But that's the job. We'll get on with it, we've got a big game coming up on Tuesday, and we'll get the team ready for that."

Swansea prevailed thanks to a 90th-minute header from Wilfried Bony, after Wayne Routledge's 12th-minute lob was swiftly cancelled out by United's Mexican striker Javier Hernandez.

The balance of the tie tipped in Swansea's favour when acting United skipper Rio Ferdinand limped off in the 75th minute, and to compound matters for the hosts, his replacement Fabio da Silva was then sent off for a rash foul on Jose Canas.

Moyes said he had "no issues at all" with Fabio's dismissal, claiming that referee Mike Dean "called it right".

With Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie currently sidelined by injury, United struggled to create clear-cut chances against Michael Laudrup's side and Moyes conceded that his team had lacked a cutting edge.

"I think we played quite well at times in the first half," he said.

"We got near the edge of the box quite regularly, but we didn't either make the opportunity to score a goal or, when we did get a half-opportunity, take it. So that was the disappointing thing.

"We went a goal behind, we came back, and I thought for long periods we had good control of the game. But at the end of it, we didn't get a goal or we didn't make enough chances from it."

Ferdinand's premature exit, with an apparent knee injury, adds to United's growing injury list, and Moyes was unable to provide an estimation as to when Van Persie will return from his thigh problem.

"They'll be great when we get them back," he said.

"The sooner we get them back, the better, as everybody can see. We'll get them back when they're ready, but they're not ready yet."