Andre Ayew believes Swansea City can win promotion this season and wants to stay as the father figure who leads a young team back into the Premier League.
The Ghanaian striker – who scored twice in the Swans’ 3-1 win over Middlesbrough at the weekend – still has another 18 months to run on a contract the club have admitted previously in unaffordable.
But even though Ayew is likely to be the subject of more loan and sale enquiries next month, the 29-year-old striker is revelling in his elder statesman role at the Liberty Stadium and would be happy to see out the season.
“There may be speculation, but I will focus on what’s ahead of me. I’m happy here, so it’s not something I think about,” said the striker who has now scored nine goals this season.
“I think I can still do it at any level. That’s not a problem or the question. But I am happy here and I’m here because I decided to stay.
“It’s far away, but promotion again would be one of the best moments of my career – because of the young players here and the responsibility I have and also the love I have from the fans. It would be something special for me.”
“I think we are four points away from the team in third and we still have 24 games. The quality is there. There’s no doubt about that. We know what we want to do. We can do it, but it all depends on us.
“We need consistency, to learn how to not lose, to get draws when we cannot win – this is what it is all about.
“We have a squad that can achieve something great, but we need to be calm, patient and keep the consistency going.”
Swansea loaned Ayew to Fenerbahce last season and may sell or loan again in January, even though it would seriously undermine their play-off chances.
But he is enjoying his resurgence back at the club, where he is now one of the most experienced players along with Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge.
“The guiding role is something I think I’ve always had. But when to get to a certain stage and age, then you need to take responsibility – on and off the pitch.
“The coaches have given here have given me confidence in doing that, so I try to use it well.
“I also have older players next to me, like Wayne and Nath etc, who are also similar. They talk and help out the younger ones. The younger players here have great quality, but it’s a matter of consistency. They need to be always determined, week-in, week-out, which is not easy.
“But I know the guys are understanding the high levels demanded. As soon as you put a foot wrong, you will get punished.”