Fergie keen to move on after Euro defeat

SIR Alex Ferguson insists he will not be feeling sorry for himself despite watching Manchester United crash out of the Europa League to Athletic Bilbao last night.

The United boss admitted his side got what they deserved, suffering a 5–3 aggregate defeat after losing 2–1 on the night.

But, with a Premier League title to win, there is no time to wonder what might have been.

"Feeling sorry for myself is not going to be an issue for me," he said.

"There is a disappointment but analysing the performances is much more significant and we have an important game on Sunday."

Ferguson confirmed his decision to replace Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs in the second–half was purely to keep them fresh for the trip to Molineux to face Wolves on Sunday.

The Scot had long since abandoned any hope of reaching the quarter–finals as, trailing from the first–leg, United fell further behind thanks to Fernando Llorente's excellent volley before Oscar de Marcos doubled their lead in the second–half.

Rooney's 27th goal of the season, a superb long-range strike 10 minutes from time, came far too late to have any effect on the overall outcome.

"I don't think we can complain about the result," said Ferguson.

"In the second–half in particular, Bilbao were the better team.”

The defeat brought to an end a woeful season in Europe. United won just three of their 10 games in UEFA competition.