David Moyes, the manager of West Ham United, has blasted the Premier League's approach to rescheduling postponed games.
On Sunday, the Hammers faced Leeds United for the second time in a week, losing 3-2 after knocking the Whites out of the FA Cup the previous weekend.
Jack Harrison scored his first Premier League hat-trick in the encounter, giving Marcelo Bielsa's side an important victory in their relegation battle.
Moyes admits his team did not play well against Leeds on Sunday, but claims the Premier League's rescheduling of the Irons' postponed match against Norwich did not help them.
He told Sky Sports: “Don’t expect me to feel good about it [the result], do you? I have to give credit to the players to play Leeds last week and then a game in midweek. An excuse? Maybe but a bit of a fair one.
“People who play against Leeds will know the intensity you need to play. We knew we had them in the league after the FA Cup but then the Premier League stuck the game in midweek.
“We found it difficult to get prepared quickly. We made mistakes, no-one else’s fault but there were other reasons for it as well.
“We have not been talking about fourth, we have been talking about chasing the teams in the top four. The players have been having a good go at it, today we were short but there were some mitigating circumstances.
“We had no games rearranged. The only game rearranged was Norwich because they had Covid. I can’t understand the Premier League squeezing a game in. Leeds had two games to fit in. Why did they squeeze ours in but not theirs?”
The West Ham boss went on to say the Premier League “aren’t getting it right” in regards to the rescheduling of postponed fixtures.