We didn't have the squad to cope, unfortunately. I couldn't see us making the Champs league whilst in the Europa, unless Spurs really did fall to pieces, which they won't. If Bob hadn't fallen out or sent so many players on loan for whatever reason, we could have coped, but with what we had we couldn't handle the Europa and it was a blessing in disguise getting knocked out.
I'm not looking at Europa fixtures thinking 'we should be there' or that we could have beaten the teams left, I'm looking at our refreshed squad and our prem fixtures ahead and fancying our chances for Champs league qualification.
And don't forget the semi. Would you have fancied our chances of playing in Braga on the Thursday before we play the rags on the Sunday, with them heving an extra 2 days rest and us barely having time to prepare? We would have had no chance. As it is I think we've got a decent chance