Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal believes that injuries to some of his key players have cost the side dearly this season.
The Red Devils have had a bright start to their domestic season with the team enjoying a brief span of time at the top of the Premier League table in November.
However, the situation quickly worsened with the Red Devils falling down the line with a string of poor results against smaller sides such as Bournemouth and Norwich City in December.
It was also the time that Van Gaal's side were missing some of their key players, a fact that the veteran manager insists was key to his men dropping down the table.
Comparing their performances against the top five teams in the league and the bottom five, Van Gaal said that it has not at all been good and a lot of the blame for that goes to players being absent with injuries.
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"When you see what we have done against top five, what we have done against bottom five is not a good average", Van Gaal said at the pre-match press conference.
"Month of December caused us big damage. We have our his own reasons for that because of injuries. You have to cope with that. When it is so much in the same positions it is hard.
"I always talk about facts, not hypothetical circumstances and activities. I can only say at the end of November we were first position. Then we had the injuries.
"What would have happened you can never tell."
Congratulating Leicester on their unbelievable feat of winning their first Premier League title, the Manchester United manager said: "Leicester are the champions. I have great respect for them and they deserve the championship."
