Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has expressed his ambition to win the Europa League.

Manchester United were knocked out of Champions League after losing their final group stage match against Basel. Ferguson says that being placed in Europa League is a punishment for his team but says he wants to win the Europa League.

"The Europa League is a good competition and a strong competition," he said. "You only need to look at the teams left in it.

"I made the point the other night that it's a punishment for us to be in the Europa League.

"What I mean by that is for 20 years this club has only thought about the Champions League. We've only thought about winning that European Cup.

"That's the punishment in terms of the disappointment of not being able to challenge for it this year, especially having been in three finals in the last four years.

"It's not a slight against the Europa League - it's a competition we want to win. We're in it and we'll try to win it."