Phelan: United cup exit unacceptable

The Red Devils bowed out of English football's most prestigious knockout competition on Sunday after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to the League One leaders. Sir Alex Ferguson fielded an experienced side against the Whites, but a solitary strike from Jermaine Beckford handed the visitors a memorable victory at Old Trafford. United, who have taken the trophy on 11 previous occasions, had been looking to taste FA Cup glory for the first time since 2004. However, those dreams have been dashed for another year and assistant manager Phelan has expressed his disappointment at the lacklustre manner in which the club came unstuck at the weekend. "We had players out there who play for Manchester United and they did not perform as expected of them," he said. "I don't think we did ourselves justice against Leeds in certain departments of the field. "This is a major blow. We need to be in finals of cup competitions like this. To go out at this stage is unacceptable." He added: "Normally, we either go experienced, or we go youth. This time we picked a bit of a mixture and it didn't work for us." Phelan may not be around to help United in their quest to make amends in 2010/11, with the highly-regarded coach having emerged as a leading candidate to take charge at Burnley should Owen Coyle vacate the Turf Moor post. Coyle is expected to leave the Clarets for Premier League rivals Bolton, with the Trotters having already held talks with the Scot as they look to find a replacement for the ousted Gary Megson.