The Red Devils only needed to draw their final Group C game against Basel in Switzerland to book their place in the last 16 of the competition for a fifth consecutive season. But United were playing catch-up from the ninth minute when Marco Streller opened the scoring at St Jakob-Park and they suffered another blow late on through Alexander Frei's close-range header. Phil Jones did pull one back for Ferguson's side after Federico Macheda saw his shot cannon off the crossbar, however, it proved too little too late. The Scot has seen his side overcome numerous setbacks over the years and he hopes his current crop of stars can use the defeat as a springboard for the future. "Of course we're disappointed, there's no other way you can feel," explained Ferguson. "It's part of football. You have to deal with the disappointment, and this club has used it as motivation many times. "These young players will feel disappointed tonight but they'll have to cope with it and go on with their careers. "Our results in the last few years have been outstanding. It's a loss because it's the best tournament in the world. It's a marvellous tournament. "It wasn't a good start to the game. We expected to try and control the game by getting control of possession. They've scored through their first real attack. "When you're away from home and you're 1-0 down, you have a job to do. The opportunities we had we didn't take them and that was the story of the game." Ferguson will now compete for the first time in the Europa League with United and he admits the team will suffer by playing on Thursdays and Sundays. "The (Europa League) is a competition I've never been in with United. It does mean one thing, it's right through Thursdays and Sundays, so that's got to be dealt with," he continued. "It's not the best. That's our penalty for not qualifying tonight." Ferguson was not impressed to learn of ITV pundit Roy Keane's damning assessment. The former United skipper said the defeat was a "reality check" for the club's young players and said the club "got what they deserved" on Wednesday night. Ferguson responded: "He had an opportunity to prove himself as a manager too. It is a difficult job." It was a remarkable achievement for Basel, easily the greatest night in the club's history, made all the more amazing by the fact it was masterminded by 36-year-old Heiko Vogel, who only became coach in October, when Thorsten Fink left to join Hamburg. "I am just very proud," he said. "Tactically, mentally, physically, everything just worked out right. "I think we deserved our victory and I just couldn't be more proud."
