John O'Shea understands the crisis talk being centred on Manchester United.

For most clubs, a two-week losing streak would be regarded as little more than a blip, but O'Shea is aware Manchester United are not 'most clubs'.

"Every defeat is a major crisis at this place, so two must be escalating towards a disaster," he observed.

"It is one of those things. We suffered one defeat, then things went against us at Fulham, with Paul Scholes getting sent off.

"But even with 10 men we should have been leading given the chances we had.

"Now we have to cope with a couple of suspensions and a couple of niggling injuries. But the manager has the squad to cope with these situations."

As United were seven points in front with a game in hand at one stage, heading into the weekend fixtures a single point and match in front of their nearest rivals is nowhere near as comfortable.

Yet, as O'Shea points out, rather than worry about the lost points, it would be better to focus on the ones United have gained.

"We are happy with the position we are in," he said.

"The rest of the teams like to be where we are. If we look after ourselves I am sure we will be OK."