Normally so solid on home soil, United have endured a disastrous campaign. Thursday night's defeat to Athletic Bilbao was their second in succession after they almost tossed away a three-goal aggregate advantage against Ajax in the last round.
And after the 3-2 reverse, Ferguson feels a change in attitude is now required, and said: "We have had a bad year in Europe. We conceded three against Basel, two against Benfica, another three against Bilbao and two to Ajax. That tells its own story."
He added: "Maybe it is just one of those years where we are having to restock and assess how we should approach games at home."
Ferguson conceded that without a man-of-the-match display from young goalkeeper David de Gea, the damage could have been even worse.
It was probably the reason why he didn't spend too long dwelling on that fact his team were the victims of an offside goal for Athletic's second, and half his team were arguing at the concession of a bizarre free-kick when the Basque outfit shot down the other end of the field to grab their third.
Far more responsible was Rafael's failure to react after De Gea had denied Oscar de Marcos, allowing Iker Muniain to belt the rebound into an empty net.
It was the low point of a sub-standard defensive display from the hosts, more in keeping with their early season performances which culminated in the horrendous 6-1 derby-day loss to Manchester City.
"There has been that slackness all season," said Ferguson, a view endorsed by midfielder Michael Carrick.
"We have been giving the opposition too many chances, which tells a tale," said Carrick. "That is not just putting the blame on the defence, it is the team as a unit. We have to defend right altogether. That hasn't been the case."
Source: PA
Source: PA