Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has defended his decision to use Adnan Januzaj as a holding midfielder in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Sunderland.
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Van Gaal said he saw the move as the best way to boost their chances of victory after Sunderland's Jack Rodwell had cancelled out Juan Mata's opening goal.
Januzaj was brought on in the 63rd minute as a replacement for Darren Fletcher, with Danny Welbeck coming on for Robin van Persie up front at the same time.
Van Gaal opted to put the Belgium winger in an unfamiliar position despite also having the more natural-looking option of Shinji Kagawa on the bench.
And the manager -- who was without injured midfielders Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera -- told reporters: "It is not usual that we have four injuries in midfield. Every club that has that has a problem.
"That is why I played Januzaj in midfield, [and] because as a coach I want to win. I have said that we need creative passing and I thought Januzaj could provide that. That is the reason.
"He played there, and you could see it's not so many times that he's played there. But he did his utmost, and I cannot demand more.''
United's next match is against League One side MK Dons in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday, and Herrera (ankle) will have his condition assessed ahead of the match.
Defender Chris Smalling came off in the first half of the Sunderland encounter with a groin injury and, like Herrera, faces a late fitness test.