Ruben Amorim has dismissed Gary Neville's criticism of the quality on show during Sunday's Manchester derby, saying the former United full-back is "critical about everything."
Amorim's side played out a lacklustre goalless draw with rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford, with United perhaps playing with one eye on Thursday's Europa League quarterfinal first leg match against Lyon. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola's team are seeking to secure Champions League qualification after their difficult campaign.
Neville expressed his frustrations with the match on commentary, with the Sky Sports pundit arguing the teams were risk averse.
"It's like we've got to a point in football where teams are frightened to death to give the ball away, make a mistake, take a risk" he said on commentary. "They're all so obsessed with shape ... Nothing off-the-cuff is happening in lots of games.
"This has got to stop. The excitement and beauty of the Premier League is the sort of thrust and energy and excitement, and doing things a little bit differently. [This] 45 minutes is a non-entity, it's not good enough from either team."
Asked about Neville's comments, Amorim told a news conference: "I understand that Gary Neville is critical about everything. And then I understand that in the moment we are doing the worst [United] season in history. Manchester City who won everything in the past this season are struggling. So we are not in the best moments to give the best spectacle to every fan.
"And then when we are not fighting for the big things, of course, it's different. You have to look at the context of the game, and I understand the critical aspect of the players that played in this game in a different way, because they were fighting every time for the titles, so it's a different context."
Neville continued his criticism after the final whistle.
"I think the congratulations and love-in that I'm watching says both teams are happy with a 0-0.
"The best Man City and Man United teams would be very disappointed with the way they've approached the end of that game.
"It looks like it's Sunday afternoon and they're going to go for a roast dinner together now."
Following their trip to face Lyon in the Europa League, United face Newcastle in the Premier League on April 13, a day after City host Crystal Palace at Etihad Stadium.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report