Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson cannot hide his disappointment at not qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Needing a victory to assure their spot in the last 16, the Red Devils were stunned by Basel, who won 2-1 with goals thanks to Marco Streller and Alexander Frei.

United will instead play in the Europa League, a competition the tactician has never been involved in.

"Of course we're disappointed," he stated in a post-match press conference. "There's no other way you can feel.

"We had so much possession of the ball and so many really good opportunities in the last third of the field. Some of our play up to that point was very good but you have to say we let ourselves down with the finishing past."

One thing that Ferguson is certain of is that the side will be playing their matches on Sundays and Thursdays.

"The Europa League is a competition I've never been in at United and it does mean one thing - Sundays right through. Thursdays and Sundays. That's got to be dealt with and it's not the best but that's our penalty for not qualifying tonight," he concluded.