Manchester United star Ander Herrera delighted with February player of the month award

Manchester United summer signing Ander Herrera has expressed his delight after receiving the club's Player of the Month award for February following a difficult start to life in the Premier League.

In a fan poll the Spaniard picked up 76% of the votes for player of the month, ahead of Marcos Rojo (14%) and Chris Smalling (10%).

After picking up the award, Herrera told MUTV: "This means a lot for me because the votes came from our fans and I'm very happy and grateful to them. I think they value my work and my passion for playing and I want to try to keep helping the team.

"I was happy [with my form] but I would have been even happier if we had won against Swansea away. We won four games last month and now we have to continue that – we are in the top four and we want to be there until the end of the season."

The Spanish midfielder arrived at Old Trafford this summer after Louis van Gaal's side agreed to meet the €36m (£26m, $39m) release clause imposed by Athletic Bilbao.

Having been David Moyes' top target to replace Paul Scholes the previous summer, Herrera was expected to lead van Gaal's side from the middle of the park.

However, after an impressive start to the season which brought two goals and one assist in his three first Premier League appearances, Herrera surprisingly disappeared from the Dutch boss's line-ups, with striker Wayne Rooney filling his void.

Van Gaal even revealed earlier this year that his top priority for the summer was to sign a new midfielder.

"Of course. I am looking for balance and I need balance in midfield," Van Gaal said. "When I play with [Adnan] Januzaj and [Angel] Di Maria in the midfield positions, then you need a certain balance for that kind of creative player."

The Spaniard came off the bench during the 3-0 FA Cup victory over Cambridge on 3 February to provide James Wilson with the third goal of the game, and has since managed to become an important player for van Gaal.

He has started the last four Premier League games, scoring a goal against Swansea, and also provided a crucial strike in the 3-1 FA Cup victory over Preston North End.

The Spaniard hopes to keep the momentum until the end of the season, and claims he will not stop until he clinches major trophies for the Premier League giants.

"I think they like players who work a lot and who play with passion. They have always shown me affection from the first day and I am very grateful," he added.

"I always say this - I feel very lucky to be a Manchester United player and I will always be the same – I want to try to play with passion, work hard and help the team. My dream is to achieve trophies with Manchester United – I will not stop until I achieve that."