Manchester United defender Antonio Valencia has humbly responded to recent claims from team-mate Ander Herrera that the Ecuadorian is good enough to rival Dani Alves as the best right-back in the world, admitting he's just happy to give what he can.
"I'm grateful for Ander's kind words but what I try and do is to simply work hard every day in training," Valencia told MUTV.
Despite many predicting the 31-year-old would quickly be deemed surplus to requirements this summer, Valencia has been a regular starter for Jose Mourinho ever since the first friendly of pre-season back in mid-July.
His pace and power on the right have added an important extra attacking dimension, while his ability in a defensive capacity has also significantly improved.
Crucially, he's playing with confidence.
"I want to put a shift in for United, the team that I love," Valencia said.
"I always want to give everything for this team. I'm not interested in personal glory like that, not at all! Of course it's really nice of Ander to have said that, but what I'm all about is just working hard."
Valencia's tireless energy saw him bag a hat-trick of assists when United faced Galatasaray in pre-season. He was responsible for creating Wayne Rooney's goal against Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, and had provided the cross for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score the winner in the Community Shield at Wembley a week earlier.
For Valencia, having someone like Ibrahimovic in the team has been a huge boost.
"Now we have someone in the box who we can aim for," he said.
"We know that we can play the ball up to him because we know that he holds the ball up well, and that he can also find and bring in other midfielders in wide positions. You know that it's always a sound option when you give the ball to him."
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