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Di Maria misses the Champions League - and warm weather

Angel Di Maria is enjoying Manchester - except for the cold weather © Getty Images

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Manchester United's record signing Angel Di Maria has told Sport magazine the club "must be back among the best" but are unlikely to challenge for the title this season.

Di Maria, who moved to Old Trafford from Real Madrid for a British record fee of £59.7 million in the summer, targeted qualification for the Champions League as he reflected on how United had improved since their early-season struggles.

He praised manager Louis van Gaal, whose Netherlands side were beaten by Argentina in the semi-finals of the World Cup, as "a good coach and a winner."

"I miss Champions League football," Di Maria told the magazine. "We will have to do our best this season so that we qualify for next year's tournament.

"It won't be easy. Some weeks ago we were seventh or eighth in the table and now we are fourth, so we have to keep on working.

"The thing we aim for the most is qualifying for the Champions League, which is what this club deserves. I also want to win titles, but I am aware that we will have to go step by step, since the manager and some of the players are new.

"There is a long way to go until the end of the season, but Chelsea already have many more points than us. We will fight to the end, though, so we can finish as high as possible in the table.

"It's not easy to win titles, but it may happen as time goes by. I think this club must be back among the best." Playing against Europe's elite is not the only thing that Di Maria misses - he also wishes the weather in Manchester was a bit warmer.

"It's much colder here and it gets dark a lot earlier than in Spain," he added. "I have no problem with the food or anything - there is not much difference between what I had in Spain and what I have here. My only problem is with the cold temperature."

Di Maria saw his new team-mates struggle for results in the early stages of the campaign and they were humiliated 4-0 by League One MK Dons in the League Cup.

"When I arrived the team was not having a good time," he said. "But there was a positive environment at the club still, and we knew that things could change."

He said he wanted to play without fear, despite the "big and strong" defenders he has encountered in the Premier League, adding: "If they have to hit me, then so be it. That's part of the game. I will always try to play my way, no matter how big the defenders are."

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