Manchester United defender Phil Jones has said the team "only have ourselves to blame" after failing to put pressure on the clubs above them in the Premier League.
Sixth-placed United could only manage a 0-0 draw at home against Hull City on Wednesday, leaving themselves four points adrift of Liverpool and Manchester City -- and also five points behind Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Leaders Chelsea appear way out of sight for Jose Mourinho's men, with a 14-point lead over United.
Although Mourinho chose to draw attention to the officials rather than his team after the game, Jones focused on the players' own shortcomings.
"We said before the game that this was our chance to put some pressure on the teams above us," Jones is quoted as saying by the Daily Star. "We knew that teams around us would slip up and they have done, but we couldn't capitalise on it.
"We're bitterly disappointed. The lads are down in the dressing room, as you'd expect, but we only have ourselves to blame."
United wasted their rare openings on Wednesday with Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic managing to deny Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata.
Those saves ensured United had to endure their ninth league draw of the season, meaning they have catching up to do in the table despite losing only three times.
Jones said: "We are sat here talking about the same things again. We didn't create as many chances as we would have liked. It's a disappointed dressing room.
"Every time we have had a chance to capitalise on the teams above us slipping up, we have not been able to do it."