Gale: United Should Have Qualified

Manchester United should have qualified easily for the knockout stages from Champions League Group B, according to Tony Gale.

A 3-2 defeat at Wolfsburg on Tuesday night saw United crash out of the group stages of Europe's elite club competition for only the fourth time in their history.

And Gale believes Van Gaal and United have no one to blame but themselves for failing to qualify from an easy group.

"You should really be cruising through that group and probably qualify with two games to go, resting players with the Premier League in mind," Gale told Soccer Special.

"The old United would have done that. They will be gutted, but it is their own fault as when the draw was made, that looked to be an easy group.

"It was not lost tonight, it was probably lost previously as this side [that played Wolfsburg], there were a lot of injuries in it and a few kids playing.

"They have been lucky in the Premier League and they have been lucky in the Champions League to have the points on the table that they have got.

"Now push comes to shove, the pressure is on, because all of a sudden in the Premier League they have got to qualify for the top four."

Defeat at the Volkswagen Arena condemned United to the Europa League for the second time in five seasons, following their demotion in 2011/12.

And Gale believes Louis van Gaal must mastermind a sustained push for the Premier League title in the wake of Tuesday's setback.

"The pressure is on him [Van Gaal] now," he added.

"United have got to have a go for the Premier League title, because that is what the expectant Manchester United fans will hope for.

"I do not know how United are going to cope with the Europa League, because United fans are going to expect them to win that.

"Whatever competition you go in with Manchester United, you have to win it. That is the call. But there is one gone and they are now in the Europa League."

Credit: Skysports.com