Louis van Gaal has denied Manchester United are "boring" as he claimed fans were entertained despite his side's inability to score in their Capital One Cup exit to Middlesbrough.
United have failed to find the net in their last two games, have gone 235 minutes without a goal and were knocked out of the Capital One Cup after losing a penalty shootout to Championship side Boro at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
But Van Gaal claimed the presence of large numbers of spectators at Old Trafford shows his team are crowd-pleasers, and argued it was an action-packed game against Aitor Karanka's team.
He said in a news conference: "I think Manchester United is always entertaining and I read also in the papers and I see that it is 'boring,' but I don't think there are more spectators in another stadium than in this ground.
"It was a fantastic atmosphere because of the fans of Middlesbrough but also of the fans of Manchester United. They have supported the players fantastically and in spite of the defeat, also when we are going to our dressing room, they were applauding.
"I think when you come to the match and you see the way we have played and you see also the way Middlesbrough has played, also in a fantastic way, it was a close game.
"The second half was better than the first and extra time was also exciting and penalties are always exciting. For us it was not so nice but I think the fans had enjoyed it. If we had scored, then nothing happens but now because we are out of the cup, it is always like that."
Former United first-team coach Rene Meulensteen said on Wednesday that Van Gaal's tactics were hindering captain Wayne Rooney, who needs more "freedom" around the pitch.
Meanwhile, Old Trafford midfield legend Paul Scholes also criticised the Dutch coach on Thursday, saying: "It's a team now you wouldn't want to play against because they're tightly organised... but it's probably not a team I'd have enjoyed playing in."
Van Gaal hit back at Scholes on Friday by telling him to keep his criticisms to himself or to tell them privately to the club's powerbrokers, adding: "Sticks and stones can break my bones but names never hurt me."
Van Gaal claimed his side have made progress, because they were eliminated from the Capital One Cup by League One outfit Milton Keynes Dons last year and reached the round of 16 this season.
"When you analyse it, then last year we were played off the pitch by Milton Keynes Dons in the first round already," he said. "Now we are nearly the quarterfinalists and I have to rotate [my squad] because in England we have a lot of matches in one week and the players cannot recover. We have a lot of competitions to play.
"All the managers are agreed about that because they are all doing that and when you have to compare MK Dons with Middlesbrough, there is a big difference. When you see the history of Middlesbrough, last year they beat Manchester City 2-0 at home [the Etihad Stadium]. We were 0-0.
"We could have won this game and we could have lost it also because I think Middlesbrough has also a few chances. It was a good game but we lost and you know as a trainer of Manchester United you shall have a hard time."
Van Gaal also confirmed that United will face Crystal Palace on Saturday without the injured Antonio Valencia.
The Ecuador international -- who sat out Wednesday's match against Middlesbrough -- has not recovered from the injury he sustained in last weekend's Manchester derby draw, meaning Matteo Darmian is set to continue at right-back.
Defender Paddy McNair, who suffered bruised ribs while playing for Northern Ireland against Finland, is also still out, while Luke Shaw continues to recover from a broken leg.