Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs (centre) leads the applause of the fans after the final whistle
Manchester United will look to put the disappointment of being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League behind them when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
United needed no more than a draw in their final group phase match at Basel on Wednesday night but succumbed 2-1 to the Swiss side and failed to progress into the knockout phase.
Red Devils legend Roy Keane called it a “reality check” while summing up the match on ITV and Sir Alex Ferguson has demanded a response from his team.
“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.”
United will be without Nemanja Vidic after he suffered a knee injury against Basel, while striker Javier Hernandez is also ruled out after his ankle knock last weekend.
Ferguson will hope that Dimitar Berbatov is fit to play some part against Wolves, as United’s attack has looked thin in recent times, especially as Wayne Rooney’s scintillating early season form has dropped off.
Now that United have been eliminated from Europe’s premier competition, they will focus their energies on trying to retain their Premier League title.
This match against Wolverhampton presents them with a chance to narrow the gap to league leaders Manchester City to two points.
They will then hope Chelsea can do them a favour by defeating City when the teams meet for the last match of the round on Monday evening.
As for Wolves, they are four points above the relegation zone having claimed a vital win away to Sunderland last weekend which manager Mick McCarthy admitted probably saved his job.
That win at the Stadium of Light was their first away from home this season – five of their other six away fixtures have ended in defeat.
The match takes place at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, kick-off 17h00 CAT.