Ghana striker Jordan Ayew is looking forward to playing in front of the Leicester City fans once more when Aston Villa visit King Power Stadium on Saturday.
A 4-0 Carabao Cup victory over Tranmere Rovers on home soil in midweek saw the Foxes set up a third round clash with Walsall and Ayew was delighted to mark his home debut with a first goal for the Club, to help Leicester City progress against Sky Bet League 2 opposition.
“I’m really happy,” the Ghana international commented after his maiden start under Steve Cooper. “The crowd was good to me so it was important for us to win because we haven’t won since the start of the season.
“I think we played well. We won, scored goals and played some good stuff. In this type of game, the first 30-40 minutes, they sit so deep. As a striker, you need to try and I just tried because they were really deep.
“So I said, you know what, let me just try and shoot from far and luckily it went my way. It was a special one and I thank God that it’s gone in.
“In the second half, it opened up for us and we played some good stuff. We got the goals and I hope the crowd enjoyed it. The most important thing is that the team managed to get the qualification for the next round and hopefully we can get a run going.”
”The most important thing for me is for us to win on Saturday because we need the points.” Ayew added.
No easy task, against a side wanting to compete at the top end of the table, the attacker says everyone is aware of how significant it would be to earn a first three Premier League points and knows they must work together as a squad to achieve their aim.
The 32-year-old explained: “It is good for confidence in the team for us to have good feeling going into Saturday, because that is a very big game for us. The most important thing for us is Saturday and I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’m going to stay humble. I’m here for the team, I’m here for the Manager and obviously if I start, fine. If I don’t start, it is okay. But the most important thing for me is for us to win on Saturday because we need the points.
“It’s against a big team. It’s not the Aston Villa of four years ago, it is one of the teams who are a top six team today. Whether you like it or not, they are top six and it’s going to be a different challenge. We’re up for it and it is the Premier League.”
Settling in quickly to new surroundings, having made his Foxes bow in a narrow defeat to Fulham last weekend, the prospect of playing in front of a packed-out King Power Stadium crowd, in a Midlands derby, is one Ayew cannot wait for, acknowledging the role that the Blue Army can play.
“I’ve really enjoyed it, especially against Fulham, even though we lost,” the forward added. “I feel comfortable. They welcomed me very well and I’m really happy to be here. The most important thing for me is to have a good season as a team and enjoy this season. We have a really good team, so I’m really positive about this season.
“We especially need the crowd to back us as well because this season will be very difficult. We will have some difficult moments, but we need them to be behind us and obviously the most important thing is for us to put in good performances and the win will come.
“All the games are going to be important for us, so we need the crowd, in our home games, to be positive. We need to make it a fortress for us, and that’s what we’re going to try and do.”
