Sir Alex Ferguson has taken some of the blame for Manchester United's poor Champions League performance at home against FC Porto on Tuesday night.

Ferguson opted to play the Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Sunday rather than Saturday which obviously was not enough time for his Red Devils to recover.

We showed tiredness because of the gamble I took playing Sunday which was not the best preparation," the told The Sun.

"But we faced a situation and we took the best option hoping a European occasion would bring the adrenalin up."

"I was tempted to get Villa moved to the Saturday," he added in The Guardian.

"However, we had so many players on international duty in places like Bolivia, Rio de Janeiro and Korea, involving some very long and tiring journeys, I thought it best to go with Sunday."