Wednesday 9 December 2015 16:25, UK
Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini thinks a prolonged Europa League campaign could hinder their bid for the Premier League title.
A painful 3-2 defeat at Wolfsburg on Tuesday night meant United finished third in their Champions League group and, rather than progressing to the knock-out stages, they will drop into the Europa League.
And United, who are just three points off the pace in the Premier League, now face the difficult task of trying to maintain their title challenge while coping with the demands of a Thursday night, Sunday afternoon fixture schedule.
Asked if the Europa League assignment was a threat to United's Premier League form, Fellaini said: "Yes, because when you play Thursday it is closer to the weekend, so it will be tough.
"But we are there now, in the Europa League, so we have to go there and try to win.
"It's difficult. Everyone wants to be in the Champions League."
United have been criticised for their defending during the loss in Germany but Fellaini blames the Champions League exit on results against PSV Eindhoven.
They were defeated 2-1 in Eindhoven in their opening group match and then drew 0-0 at home with the Dutch side when they had a chance to qualify with a victory.
Asked why United were out, Fellaini said: "We didn't score.
"Everyone knows that we should have finished it against PSV Eindhoven. In the first game against PSV we created a lot of chances but we didn't score.
"It is disappointing for everyone. We now have to forget this disappointment, pick ourselves up very quickly, and focus on the next game."
That game comes at Bournemouth on Saturday night but United will go into it short-handed because a number of key players have been sidelined.
"We have a lot of injuries," said Fellaini. "There's nothing we can do about that.
"We have a lot of players in the squad that the manager has given a chance to and now they can show themselves, but I hope the injured players come back soon."
