Manchester United News: Rooney Calls For Change in Hectic Festive Season Fixtures

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney feels that the non-stop schedule during the festive period in England needs to be changed in the future to avoid injuries to players.

The Red Devils along with the other Premier League sides played two matches each in the space of 48 hours, and this resulted in a lot of players being strained and exhausted.

Reds Devils boss Louis van Gaal described his side's latest clash at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday as "ugly" and a "struggle for life" as both teams failed to muster enough energy having played on Boxing Day.

And Rooney, who admits that both Tottenham and Manchester United were struggling with fatigue on Sunday, hopes that the schedule is going to be changed in the future.

"It is not easy playing two games in two days and you do lose a lot of the quality from both teams," said Rooney, according to Manchester United's official website.

"It is difficult. We started so well in the first half but in the second half it was tough and hopefully in the future it has to change."

The 29-year-old claims the players are always eager to play even if they are struggling to recover in time.

"As a player you want to play," he said. "It is tough, but you want to play and try and help the team win. If you look at all the games [on Sunday] towards the end then they will all lose a lot of quality."

The former Everton striker insists that the risk of players "getting a really bad injury" is very high if they are not allowed sufficient rest between matches.

"It will probably take someone getting a really bad injury from [playing twice in no time], which no one wants to see, but it is very demanding and I think it does need looking at."

Apart from the players, Rooney feels that the hectic schedule in the festive period also gets difficult for the fans.

"With the weather as well, with the fans coming from London or travelling from Manchester, it has been tough. It is a lot of money to spend over Christmas as well. But it is what it is, we have to deal with that and have to try and perform well," he added.