Sir Alex relishing Ajax meeting

Sir Alex Ferguson is relishing Manchester United’s Europa League debut as the Red Devils play Ajax.

It was no lucky draw for the English teams playing in Europe’s secondary competition as both Manchester sides crashed out of the Champions League to be drawn against Porto (City) and the Dutch outfit (United), while Stoke will face Valencia.

Sir Alex’s reaction to the dropping from the continent’s elite tournament wasn’t the best as he claimed the Europa League was a “penalty” for his team’s poor performance in the Champions League group stage, where they failed to qualify after a late defeat by the modest FC Basel.  

After being under UEFA’s criticism for his statements, Fergie has now come to defend the new competition and he is now relishing to face Ajax, which will be a first for the experienced manager.

“I never played them before in competitive football in my managerial career. They are a good team and we are looking forward to it.”

Manchester United’s kick-off in the Europa League is scheduled for the Amsterdam ArenA - the Red Devils were better third-placed in their Champions League group stage than Ajax  and earned the right to play the second leg at Old Trafford - on February 16th.