Manchester United midfielder Antonio Valencia feels the teams premature exit from the Champions League has motivated them domestically.

Since the 2-1 loss to Swiss club FC Basel on December 7, United have won four in four in the Premier League, scoring 16 goals and conceding just once.

Valencia, who fired home a beautiful goal in the 5-0 win over Wigan Athletic yesterday, feels that failure has motivated the Red Devils players who are now level on points with league leaders Manchester City.

"The biggest blow was the Champions League because we are a big club and we are expected to be fighting to win the competition, not just qualifying from the group stages," the Ecuadorian told Sky Sports.

"We reached the final last year and it hurts to go out so early. But we are using that hurt.

"The group now tries even harder in training and we are going into games with a determined attitude because we've got to win something, whether it is the Premier League, Europa League or FA Cup.

"We have to make sure we are involved in those trophies and we have a renewed focus."

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