Ander Herrera said he wants to help his team by scoring and assisting if he plays in the No. 10 role for Manchester United.
Herrera started his first game of the season on Wednesday and did not let coach Van Gaal down, scoring one goal and setting up another in the 4-0 win over Club Brugge that put United into the group stage of the Champions League.
He started nervously but improved after half-time when he moved from a holding midfield position to the No. 10 slot just behind Wayne Rooney.
Despite his success, Herrera is realistic about his chances of playing there for the rest of the season -- mainly because Van Gaal has the option of playing Memphis Depay, Juan Mata, Adnan Januzaj, Marouane Fellaini, Rooney or Andreas Pereira there too.
"Time will tell if this will be a big night for me. If the manager wants me to play I will play, and if the manager wants me to wait for my moment then I will wait," the midfielder said. "I am realistic. This is the way I will approach things.
"I am a team player. I don't think about me. It's just the team. I am not selfish. I will play where the manager wants me to play.
"If I have to play holding midfielder, I will do. Last season, I played more as a holding midfielder than as a No. 10, but if I have to play as a No. 10, then I want to help my team by scoring and assisting."
Herrera put the seal on the joint-biggest win of Van Gaal's reign with a 63rd-minute strike in Bruges.
But the biggest star of the night was undoubtedly Rooney.
The United captain ended an 878-minute goal drought with a clinical hat trick.
"We are happy for him," the Spaniard said. "He is our captain and our leader and he is always helping us and thinking about the team."
Herrera also praised his captain for giving the ball to Javier Hernandez when United won a penalty -- which the Mexican missed -- in the second half.
"It was a great gesture," Herrera said. "It was unselfish, and it shows he is always thinking of the team.
"He knew it was important for Chicharito to score, so he gave the ball to him. When you are a star, that kind of thing is not so usual, so we are lucky to have Wayne with us."
Despite the comprehensive win, Herrera is refusing to make any grand predictions about United's chances of going far in the Champions League.
"It is too early to say," he said. "We have to go step by step, but of course, we are representing one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"The history of the club says we have to fight for all the trophies."