West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Pulis refused to criticise his players following Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League.
The Baggies entered the match just four points behind sixth-placed Man United in the table, but now trail the Red Devils by seven points after the defeat.
Pulis, however, said that his players "gave everything" for the cause against Jose Mourinho's side, who are now just four points off second-placed Liverpool.
"The first goal obviously was a real kick in the teeth for us. It was a poor one to concede and it took a while for us to get going again. We needed to make sure we stayed in the game but they scored the second at a good time for them and that took the steam out of us a bit," Pulis told BT Sport.
"It's been a long week. We've played three tough games and you can't criticise the players too much. They gave everything."
West Brom will look to return to winning ways when they travel to Arsenal on December 26, before ending 2016 with a trip to Southampton.
Matt Law
