December cannot come to an end fast enough for Manchester United.
The Red Devils suffered their fifth loss of the month across all competitions on Saturday, falling 2-1 at Nottingham Forest in both sides' final match of 2023.
United appeared to have found a late equaliser after Forest took the lead just after the hour mark, but an 82nd-minute goal by Morgan Gibbs-White secured all three points for the home side, who have now won back-to-back matches under new head coach Nuno Espirito Santos.
As for United, they can finish the calendar year no higher than seventh in the standings, but could fall to ninth on New Year's Eve if Brighton and Newcastle both win on that day.
Regardless, Saturday's performance was another in a growing number of disappointing outcomes for the Red Devils, with manager Erik ten Hag pointing to a lack of consistency as the key factor behind his team's latest poor run of results.
"We have to make our performances consistent and have to do better," Ten Hag told BBC Radio 5 Live. "A game is 90 minutes and we have to invest from the first minute on."
Ten Hag also noted that a number of absent players has contributed to the side's skid.
"We are hopeful that many players will be back in the new year and they will strengthen the team and the squad," he said.
"We know the reasons why it is not working. No team can deal with so many issues and injuries we have had.
"We should still have done better and we have depth in the squad. When you have so many injuries, the depth is not enough."