Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has described his side's upcoming schedule as "frantic" but insists the players will be enjoying the challenge rather than fearing it.
Despite being knocked out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage, to Chelsea, Man United have nine games over the next month with seven Premier League fixtures and a two-legged UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Belgian side Anderlecht.
Manager José Mourinho faces a tough challenge over the next 30 days, needing to effectively and efficiently rotate his squad. Theoretically, most players should be given a chance over these nine matches, a potential morale boost for the squad going into a key part of the season.
Mata admits United have "frantic month"
"We're going to be facing a frantic month of April," Mata said, writing in his latest blog post.
"We have to play twice against Anderlecht [a two-legged Europa League quarterfinal], it makes a total of nine games for us the next month!"
The Spaniard insisted that "it's not a complaint." Instead, he described it as a "reality" that United must "adapt" to "in order to give the best we have in the decisive spell of the season."
Mata wants United to show quality in busy period
"I see these games as a challenge to show all the good things we've been working on throughout the season, and I hope that we can get good results too."
Mourinho has previously described United's situation as "really complicated" and has express his frustration at the schedule after United's FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea was on the Monday with a Europa League round of 16 on the next Thursday, just three days later.
The Portuguese boss expressed similar frustrations during the festive period when the Reds had five games in just 16 days. United will need to use the full depth of their squad, though injuries to Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marouane Fellaini during the international break will make it an even tougher challenge, particularly with Paul Pogba injured, and Zlatan Ibrahimović and Ander Herrera suspended.