Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that he intends to win the Europa League.

The Scot had claimed that the club's participation in the competition was a "penalty" after their Champions League group stage exit on Wednesday night.

"The Europa League is a good competition and a strong competition," said Ferguson. "You only need to look at the teams left in it. I made the point the other night that it's a punishment for us to be in the Europa League. What I mean by that is for 20 years this club has only thought about the Champions League. We've only thought about winning that European Cup.

"That's the punishment in terms of the disappointment of not being able to challenge for it this year, especially having been in three finals in the last four years. It's not a slight against the Europa League - it's a competition we want to win. We're in it and we'll try to win it."

The Premier League champions host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.