Solskjaer denies his squad is fatigued

Cape Town - Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended his players after a limp performance against Wolves in the FA Cup on Saturday.

The visitors failed to have a shot on target, drawing a blank for a third game in their last five outings in a goalless stalemate at Molineux.

A replay in 10 days will be Wolves’ 38th game of the season and also takes up United’s only free mid-week this month.

But Solskjaer, whose side play the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Tuesday, insisted another match does not faze him.

The United boss says he would rather have a replay than be out of the competition altogether, so has no complaints about having to face Wolves again at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer also says his players know how to cope with the heavy workload, even if that was not really evident on Saturday as they rarely troubled the Wolves goal.

“We had nine games in 29 or 30 days in December so we might as well carry on,” he said. “It’s the schedule we are in and have to accept it. I am full of praise for the players and how they cope with it.”

Solskjaer also defended United’s attack after Marcus Rashford’s deflected effort hitting the bar was as close as they came.

“You can say Marcus’ shot is not on target but it’s going in if Conor Coady’s heel isn’t there. We had chances,” he said. “In the first half we had the possession, in the second half they had possession and a couple of chances. Both teams could have won it.”

Even so the lack of shots on target is a concern for the United faithful, who will be hoping for better when their side return to action against City on Tuesday night.

Norwich are then the visitors in the Premier League on Saturday.

- TEAMTalk