Dimitar Berbatov has warned Manchester United players there can be no excuses over a packed fixture schedule and they can't allow this season to become an "embarrassment".
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side sit 14th in the Premier League table during the international break despite a 3-1 win against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
It's been a poor start to the season for United, who have already played 12 games since the start of the season.
With Carabao Cup, Champions League and Premier League commitments in a reduced season, managers will have to juggle their players' workloads more than ever.
Berbatov has insisted that the hectic fixture schedule can't be used as an excuse for United's poor start to the season and believes a club of Manchester United's stature should be acclimatised to competing on all fronts.
"This season is different, there are a lot of games in a short space of time," Berbatov told Betfair.
"Matches in the Premier League, in Europe and then all of a sudden international breaks, but this cannot be used as an excuse.
"United have faced fixture congestion for many years, during my time and even before my time. United are used to playing in the Premier League, Europe and in the cups - we used to win them all as well.
"There can be no excuses, the situation is the same for everyone else, the performances are just not consistent enough.
"They need to improve sooner rather than later because other teams will get ahead of them and they could become a real embarrassment."
