Mourinho has repeatedly suggested his squad are feeling the effects of a season that will reach 64 games after Wednesday's Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm.

He insists he has been forced to prioritise the Europa League over the Premier League in a bid to secure Champions League football.

And in his programme notes ahead of Crystal Palace's visit to Old Trafford, Mourinho -- who is set to again rest his key players -- has taken aim at pundits who disagree with his assessment.

He wrote: "I have seen in the football media that certain pundits cannot understand why our players are tired.

"A pundit is not honest if they cannot forget their colours or if they try to hide the truth from their audience. It's not my fault if their managerial career was very poor."

Former Liverpool midfielder and Sky Sports analyst Graeme Souness is one pundit who has said Mourinho has got his approach wrong.

Souness, who managed Rangers, Liverpool, Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle among others, went as far to say Mourinho has handed "excuses" to his players with his criticism of the fixture schedule.

"You deal with it and get on with it, it's not a new problem," Souness told Sky Sports.

"I personally never ever felt tired. The more success we had the more I wanted to play, I couldn't wait for the next game.

"The last thing I wanted would have been a manager continually telling me I am tired.

"If you go down that road you are constantly handing out excuses for your players not to play well. People say the game has changed, but has it changed that much?"