Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted his Manchester United squad will be pushed to the limit with their brutal upcoming fixture list.
United take on Club Brugge on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League last 32 tie, the second of seven games in a hectic 21-day spell.
Although United beat Chelsea 2-0 away on Monday, Solskjaer was angry they were made to play just three days before resuming their Europa League campaign.
Against that backdrop, with the fixtures coming thick and fast over the next three weeks, Solskjaer said he will be forced to use all the personnel at his disposal.
“Of course it does have a big impact, because two days recovery is not a lot,” said Solskjaer. “You would have wanted a game on the Saturday before playing on the Thursday. We had 16 days off, but we can't complain, it is what it is.
“I just mentioned it because it's not the best in terms of preparation, but these boys are brilliant, they're young, fresh and recover quickly.
“We had two weeks to prepare for this spell and we have seven games in 21 days, starting with Monday's game and ending on March 8 against Manchester City.
“That's a game every three days, but we have a big squad and we've travelled with 19 players. A couple of youngsters haven't travelled with us and I have to make use of the squad I've got and make changes.
“Not too many, but enough with rhythm and consistency in the team selection, and players feeling part of the team because they'd like to play more.”
One of those players who is likely to play a key role over the next few weeks is loan signing Odion Ighalo, who is in line for his first start for United on Thursday night.
Ighalo, on loan from Shanghai Shenhua until the end of the season, came off the bench late on at Chelsea, with Solskjaer hailing the impact he can make for United.
“I'm not going to tell the team today, but we're going to have to rotate with all the games coming up and he's one that could start, although we've not made a decision yet,” said Solskjaer.
“For me, Odion is a different type of striker for us. He's a box striker, a goalscorer, we've seen him training, he knows his craft and how to train as a centre-forward.
“He's a fantastic professional and human being and has already added to the squad. The boys have taken to him. I hope he's going to sharpen up quickly.
“He's been out of season, he needs to do a little bit extra after training and we try to give him as much game time as possible. He had a good chance at Chelsea, but I'm sure he'll take his chances.”
