Erik ten Hag admitted his Manchester United side should have scored more goals after they eased into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over League One Wigan.
United had 33 attempts at goal, 14 of them on target, but in the end only managed to beat Latics' impressive young goalkeeper Sam Tickle twice, first with Diogo Dalot's 22nd-minute curling shot and then with a 74th-minute penalty from Bruno Fernandes.
Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho both hit the crossbar while Marcus Rashford brought some fine saves out of Tickle, but this was the 18th out of 23 domestic games in which United's forwards failed to find the net.
"It's all about the win but first half, the way we played, the performance, how we worked the ball, how we made our runs, the investment in the final third, we created a lot of chances and that was pleasing to see," Ten Hag said.
"I think we should have scored more but the good thing is we created the chances."
After a December in which United lost six of nine to increase the pressure on Ten Hag, the manager could not afford a slip-up and that showed in a team selection in which he made only two changes, one of them the return of Hojlund from illness.
Antony was out through injury while Christian Eriksen was ill, with Scott McTominay replacing the Dane.
"We have so many injuries and illnesses but still we put out a strong side," Ten Hag added. "We had a good team, so we were confident before, we must win this game.
"You never underestimate any opponent, definitely not this side, you know they will fight for their life because it's the game of their life, we took the game very good."
Although Ten Hag is optimistic a number of players could return in time for Sunday's Premier League match at home to Tottenham, stretched resources could prompt transfer activity.
"We consider everything," Ten Hag said when asked about the January window. "So what is in the best interests of the players and also the best interests for us, the team, for Manchester United. So we’ll see how we progress during the window."
Ten Hag admitted it has been frustrating to lose so many players in recent weeks, but the Dutchman did not want that to be an excuse for some poor results last month.
"I don’t want to be frustrated because I can do nothing for it, it will not help to support the team," he said. "So we have to get the best performance and best results with the players available and that’s what we’re trying to do…
"I think there will be some players that are hopeful they can be back for the weekend."
