United were knocked out by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals last night and a recurrence of Wayne Rooney's ankle problem is likely to keep him out of the trip to Blackburn on Sunday. Gibson, the Republic of Ireland midfielder whose goal had appeared to put United on course for the semis, said: "We cannot lie down and let the whole season go. It is either that or we stand up and fight and go for the championship. "I cannot describe the disappointment but we have to pick ourselves up for Blackburn Rovers on Sunday. We are still in the race for the title. "We have the experience in the dressing room to stand up and fight back. There are lads in there who have been in this position before and done it before. "We have the characters and experienced players to pick ourselves up and I think we will be all right." Gibson said Rafael's sending off early in the second half had swung the tie away from United and their 3-0 lead slipped to 3-2 - and victory on away goals for the German side. He added: "Any team would think they were going through when you are 3-0 up on the night. The whole stadium and probably the whole world must have thought we were going through. "It was through silly mistakes that we allowed them to score. Rafael's sending off was obviously a massive turning point. "They had an extra man and we have had to sit back and defend. We were put under a lot of pressure. "We've played a lot of games so the lads were getting tired. "Rafa getting sent off killed it for us. It is mixed feelings for me. I would rather not have scored and gone through. We are devastated." Gibson also insisted that the lack of any Premier League side in the last four of the competition for the first time since 2003 was not a sign of a drop in quality. He said: "I don't think it means anything, the Premier League has got even better this season, it's just a coincidence."
