Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson: We would have made the final of the Champions League if we had progressed

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson insists that his team would have made the Champions League final if they had progressed from the group stages.

This year marks the first time in 16 seasons that United have failed to feature in the knockout stages and they will instead venture into the Europa League, meeting Dutch outfit Ajax on Thursday.

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United’s failure to overcome Swiss side Basel in their final group game disappointed Sir Alex and he feels the Red Devils would have made the final had they kept their concentration in that match.

"It was a massive disappointment because my feeling is that if we'd gone through, we would have gone on to the final," the United manager told reporters.

"For me, the problem was the home game against Basel.

"We were 2-0 up and then missed four or five clear-cut chances. We ended up losing our concentration and though we managed to salvage a draw, it was a bad result for us.

"It left us having to go and get at least a point in the return game. And though we dominated the match, we didn't score, and when that happens, you don't deserve to win."

Sir Alex believes the side that defeated them in last season’s final, Barcelona, remain the team to beat in the Champions League, but insists his team of youthful stars would be a match for the La Liga giants.

"Barcelona are the best team in Europe - although Real Madrid [currently 10 points ahead of Barca at the top of the Spanish league] are closing the gap on them," he said. "The lead they've got in the league shows that.

"They might be on the same level as them soon, but for the moment Barca have still got that magical ability to play a game that's beyond everyone else.

"When Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta are on song, they're just unstoppable.

"I think we've got the ambition to compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid and we decided a few years ago to create a structure with young players, like Wayne Rooney and Nani.

"All we've had to do since then is just build things around a few young players. So I don't feel we're that far away from Barcelona and Real Madrid.

"I'm sure we'll show that soon."