Manchester United's Head of Academy Nicky Butt has attacked the Premier League as he claimed that the under-23 side wasn't permitted to change the date of their clash with Leicester City despite having a limited squad.

Man United were missing a number of regulars after sending a 17-man squad to compete at the Dallas Cup in Texas, the United States' oldest youth football tournament. Butt was forced to give debuts to four under-18 players, Indy Boonen, Kanye Diedrick-Roberts, Faustin Makela and Luca Ercolani. The average age of United's squad for Monday night's 0-0 draw was just 18.9.

Butt frustrated by fixtures at under-23 level

Butt claimed that the development of some of the younger players who came into the side could have been seriously affected and was also unhappy that those players in Dallas missed the chance to play in a stadium like the King Power, a valuable experience at this level.

"It's difficult because some of these lads aren't ready for this level of football," Butt said. "You get forced into playing some games because the Premier League seem to think it's right to make you plays games that you're not ready for."

"We're trying to develop players," Butt told MUTV after the draw at the King Power. United played their opening game of the Dallas Cup, entering at under-19 level, on Sunday evening in the US, well-beaten by Mexican side Chivas 4-1 with jetlag and the heat not helping the Reds at the Cotton Bowl. "They didn't the right result, but they played in front of 20,000 people yesterday," Butt said, "the amount of inexperience they'll get from that is invaluable."

"That’s what we’re trying to do, develop players and I just can’t understand why you get made to play games when you’re not ready to play games.”

At under-23 level, teams play at their first team stadium in the final games of the season, and Butt was frustrated that players like Regan Poole, Callum Gribbin, Ethan Hamilton, Lee O'Connor and Matthew Olosunde, who are in Dallas, missed the opportunity to play at a stadium like Leicester's.

Players missing great experience because of Premier League decisions

"Honestly, it’s a great stadium to play, a great football ground to play in and some of our lads have missed this now because you’re only playing a certain amount of stadiums a year. I always think it’s wrong that you’re getting pushed to play certain games on certain dates when you’re not ready to and you’re not qualified to," Butt reiterated.

Butt also claimed that a defeat on Monday could have seriously damaged the development of some of his younger players, with all the outfield players on the substitutes bench being just 17 years old.

"We’re lucky our lads did well tonight because if the lads go out on that pitch in front of that stadium, on live TV, and have a bad game, that could knock them back three or four months, it might ruin them.”

The Reds are in a relegation scrap in Premier League 2, sitting 7th with two games remaining, against Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. With 22 points, there are five teams below them but all within the space of four points.

"Results aren't everything," Butt insisted, but he also said that he was "really happy" with his side's performance. "I was happy with the way the older ones helped the younger ones and the way the younger ones came on the pitch even though we think that, development wise, they're not ready."