Jamie Carragher has claimed that Manchester United's fixture schedule is "nothing out of the ordinary", despite manager Jose Mourinho's complaints.
The Portuguese coach expressed his frustration at his team's packed schedule for April, during which they played nine games, including seven in the Premier League and two in the Europa League.
During that time, they dropped points against West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Manchester City and more recently Swansea City, who earned a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last Sunday.
Carragher, though, believes that a busy schedule is what clubs like Manchester United should be used to and happy with as it means that they are competing in numerous competitions.
"At Manchester United you have players who are used to playing that amount of games," the former Liverpool defender told Sky Sports' Monday Night Football. "I think seven or eight teams in Europe have played nine games in April.
"If you're a Manchester United manager you want to play nine games in April because it shows you're performing, you're still in competitions, you're still going for things.
"I don't see anything out of the ordinary there in the number of games played. It shows you're successful, and if United could play 63, 64 games this season, last year they played 59. That's not a massive difference.
"Yeah, they're complaining but it shows they're doing well and that is the norm, especially going forward for Manchester United, especially if they want to get back into the Champions League."
United, who sit fifth in the table, will face Celta Vigo in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
Danielle Joynson
