Valencia Seeks Final Flourish

Antonio Valencia told United Review that it's been an eventful couple of weeks at Old Trafford, but that the yearning for a silver-lined season remains undiminished...

How is everyone feeling after a pretty eventful couple of weeks on three fronts?
Everyone is feeling good. We were pleased with the win over Norwich and there are so many positives to take out of our performance against Madrid despite the result. I don’t like to look at it as a down - we all know the big things that happened in the match which had an effect on the eventual result, but these things happen. Football is about ups and downs. Chelsea are always tough opponents and we were delighted to go 2-0 up and things were looking good. But when a team of that quality gets one back there is always a danger they can get another and that’s what happened unfortunately. The most important for us is to keep our heads up and move on to the next challenge.

You mentioned the positives you can take from the Madrid game - in a way can what happened inspire to you to succeed in other competitions?
Yes, definitely. For 65 minutes we were ahead in the game and the tie, playing well and in control. We know what happened after that. It’s hard to take positives when you’ve lost but in that particular match there were a lot of positives. We were one man down for most of the second half but even in the final few minutes we had Madrid penned back in their area. We showed that this Manchester United team is full of heart, character and a desire to be successful no matter the situation. And that is something that can inspire us for the future.

What was the overriding feeling after the Chelsea FA Cup game – frustration that we hadn’t gone through after being ahead or relieved to still be in it given how things panned out?
2-0 is always quite a dangerous scoreline in football. We went into the dressing room at half-time and felt reasonably comfortable, but 14 minutes into the second half they scored and that gave them a real lift. We were disappointed after the game not to have won given that we were 2-0 up, but we’ll go into the replay full of confidence. The replay is the game for us to put things right in and recently we’ve had better results at Chelsea so we’ll go there without fear.

How big is the desire within the squad to win the title back?
The desire amongst the lads to win the league is huge – we really couldn’t be any more determined. We do not want a repeat of last season. Every game is like a cup final for us - we have to fight in every minute of every match. We know it’s in our hands and we have to make sure we make the advantage we have count.

How would you sum up your season on a personal front?
It’s not been quite the season I would have hoped for on a personal front. I think the injuries I’ve had have held me back a bit. I still get the odd twinge from the last injury I had to my leg and that has perhaps affected my progress slightly. That isn’t to say I haven’t enjoyed the season because I have very much.

Do you feel you have an important part to play between now and the end of May?
I hope so. I hope I get the chance to be involved in as many games as possible and if I’m picked I’m determined to grab my opportunities and do my best for my team-mates, the manager and the fans.

You made a clean sweep at the Player of the Year awards last year – which of your team-mates gets your vote this season?
It’s a difficult choice. So many players have had a great season but there are four or five players who have really stood out, but I can’t reveal where my vote will go yet! [Laughs]. The great thing for us is we’ve had so many players playing well and hopefully everyone can continue to maintain those high standards between now and May.