Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Manchester United's five Premier League defeats will not prove terminal to their chances of retaining their title.
After a decent start to life without Cristiano Ronaldo, the Red Devils have suddenly hit major trouble.
With up to eight senior defenders missing at times since mid-November, United have lost twice in three games, against Aston Villa and Fulham, and deserved nothing more on each occasion.
They have been hefty blows to take, particularly at a time when United tend to start hitting top gear.
The only saving grace is that no-one else is doing any better.
Liverpool already seem to be out of contention, Arsenal are finding it difficult to string a sequence of results together away from the Emirates Stadium while favourites Chelsea, while establishing a four-point cushion at the top, needed a late Frank Lampard penalty to secure a home win against Portsmouth and another just to eke out a draw against West Ham last Sunday.
It is Villa and Tottenham who are capturing most attention, yet both have already dropped enough points to suggest they would struggle to maintain a level of form that would get them into contention to challenge for number one spot.
"It is an unusual league," said Ferguson.
"Arsene Wenger said you could lose seven games and win the title this season. That is the way it is going.
"Someone also pointed out the recognised top four have lost 41 points this season. No-one would have bet on that.
"And there are more banana skins on the way I am sure.
"We just have to try and make sure we are not one of them."
