Alex Ferguson carried his annoyance and disappointment into the press conference after last night's elimination. There was no hiding his feelings as he bristled his way through a series of tough questions, one of which, about the future of this Manchester United team and its potential break-up, he point blank refused to answer.

United's obvious defensive deficiencies were the source of Ferguson's discontent. "I'd like to wish Bayern Munich good luck first of all," he began, "but I felt we contributed to their victory - really bad defending." Overall, however, Ferguson had not felt his side had played badly on the night. "In terms of the general play I thought we were the better side," he said. "Bayern were better than us in the first leg at Old Trafford but tonight I thought we were better. I think Bayern were glad to hear the final whistle. I think we're as good a team as Bayern Munich, without question.

"We had enough good chances, Kahn made some good saves. I think if we had scored the second goal we'd have won. It's a disappointment, we looked at the European challenge as a sign of whether we have progressed and we have failed."

One man who did not fail in Ferguson's eyes was Roy Keane. "He proved what an influential player he is to Manchester United, his energy was commendable. You can be proud of some players but I am always proud of Roy. He plays with the desire of all the great players. He deserved to be on the winning team tonight."

As for Keane, well he clearly feels that the team has had its day. "The players gave it their all, but we are just not good enough," said the United skipper."You have to face the facts and I think the signs have been there this season - PSV, Anderlecht, Panathinaikos - while we were also lucky to get to the first stage even.

"The players gave it their all tonight but we are just not good enough and maybe it's time to move on. Maybe it's the end of the road for this team. It's no good winning the Premier League, we need to step up a level in Europe. I keep going on about Real Madrid but they're setting the standards we have to match."

While United now stare at a meaningless end of season, for Bayern there is Real Madrid. Ferguson warned the Germans about that. "I think Real Madrid have the best players. Anyone wanting to win the cup will have to beat Real Madrid. Adding Figo to their team, that makes them very powerful."

Adding to United's is now Ferguson's task.