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Alex Neil laments Norwich City's 'silly errors' vs. United as relegation looms

Alex Neil lamented his Norwich City side's errors that lost them Saturday's Premier League game against Manchester United.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the 1-0 defeat, he said "I think the players tried as hard as they tried in a lot of games but they make a silly error -- and it cost us the game again.

"Too often it's been an error or a lapse in concentration by someone at some stage and it makes it difficult to go on and get something from the game."

In a game where, despite their better technical ability, Manchester United's lacklustre pace struggled to impact on the Canaries' defence, it was a frustrating experience for Neil.

Juan Mata's 72nd minute goal killed off the tie and Neil said that his team had not created enough opportunities.

"I think Manchester United's goal was the first shot on target, so in terms of shape and things like that, I think we worked it well, we probably just didn't create even nearly as much as we'd have liked," he said.

"That's what the best teams do," he added "when they're on top they get the goal that matters."

Norwich's position in the Premier League now looks increasingly tenuous as they linger second from bottom of the table and three points from safety

Asked about his team's prospects, Neil was keen to await the outcome of Norwich's remaining games.

"We'll see the lay of the land after these two games -- but we've got two games remaining, and we need to make sure we go and put a good performance in on Wednesday," he added.

"I think there'll always be belief... It's going to be tough. You start then relying on other teams which is not a good place to be."

To further add to Neil's woes, Jonny Howson left the pitch with a knee injury which the under-fire manager said would end his season.

"He's [Jonny Howson] opened his knee up -- so he's going to be a major loss for us," the Scot said.