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| A top-four finish would ensure Champions League qualification but Sir Alex Ferguson, who was in charge at Old Trafford for some 27 years, believes United have a great opportunity to qualify by winning Europe’s second-tier club competition |
Manchester United should focus on winning the Europa League this season, which would bring the club a trophy they have never won and secure qualification for next seasonโs Champions League, former manager Alex Ferguson has said.
United are fifth in the Premier League and sit four points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, though they have two games in hand on the Merseyside club.
A top-four finish would ensure Champions League qualification but Ferguson, who was in charge at Old Trafford for some 27 years, believes United have a great opportunity to qualify by winning Europeโs second-tier club competition.
โThe thing is, weโve never won the Europa League,โ he told ESPN. โWeโve never won UEFA Cup, what it used to be. And weโve got a great draw. Iโm not saying itโs a certainty, but theyโve got a great chance.
โItโs still a European trophy. And if you win it, you get into the Champions League. The incentive is greater to do that.โ
English clubs have failed to win a European title since Chelseaโs Champions League win in 2012.
Ferguson, who won two Champions League trophies and a Cup Winnersโ Cup at United, said success on the European front is cyclical.
โIn the โ70s, Ajax and Bayern Munich; โ80s, Liverpool; โ90s Italy, AC Milan. And then England had a great spell,โ the 75-year-old Scot added.
โAt the moment, the cycle is with the Spanish teams. And theyโre best, thatโs why theyโre winning it.
United visit Belgian outfit Anderlecht in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on April 13 before hosting the return a week later.
