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Antonio Valencia has admitted he is saddened by Manchester United 's situation as they compete for a top four spot instead of the Premier League title.

United are a whopping 16 points off the Premier League summit with seven games remaining and travel to second-placed Tottenham on Sunday.

Spurs are set to finish above United for the second time in three campaigns, as The Reds' struggle to compete for trophies continues in the post- Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Valencia, who made his comeback from a lengthy lay-off last month, acknowledges United have under-achieved in the Premier League this season.

He told MUTV: "It will be interesting (against Spurs) but a little bit sad in a way because we feel that we should be fighting for the title itself. But we have to make sure we keep on this winning run in order to achieve what we need to.

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"We know how important historically the Champions League is here, how happy it would make the fans to qualify for that competition again for next season. So the main battle is to get back into that top four.

"It'll be exciting for us as we're playing for our place in the Champions League next season. And when you're playing against opponents who are challenging for the title, in the shape of Tottenham and Leicester, they are going to be big fixtures."

Valencia added he is 'happy' with the operation on his foot injury that sidelined him for almost five months and he is 'fully recovered'.