Home woes leave Ferguson facing European re-think

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted Manchester United’s slack European performances will force him to reassess how to approach such games at Old Trafford in future.

Normally so solid on home soil, United have endured a disastrous campaign. They only managed to win one of their three home matches in the Champions League and despite dropping into Uefa’s secondary competition, they have been even worse after the winter break.

Thursday’s Europa League loss to Athletic Bilbao was their second in succession after they almost tossed away a three-goal aggregate advantage against Ajax in the last round. Even before the game, former United stalwart turned pundit Gary Neville declared it was a year where United were taking a step back in order for their youngsters to move forward. And after Thursday night’s 3-2 reverse, Ferguson feels a change in attitude is now required.

“We have had a bad year in Europe,” he said. “We conceded three against Basel, two against Benfica, another three against Bilbao and two to Ajax. That tells its own story. Maybe it is just one of those years where we are having to restock and assess how we should approach games at home.”

The strange thing is that the European slump has come in the midst of some excellent form on the domestic front. United must recover in time to tackle in-form West Brom at Old Trafford tomorrow.

“We are desperate to win the league again and Sunday is the next game,” said midfielder Michael Carrick. “It is massive, as they all are, and we’ll be ready.”