Andre Ayew: I must repay Swans' faith

Ayew has returned to the Liberty Stadium on a three-and-a-half-year contract after the Swans agreed a club-record deal with West Ham United.

And the man who finished as top scorer in his one previous season as a Swan is determined to ensure Carlos Carvalhal’s team pull clear of relegation danger.

“I am very happy to be back,” Ayew declared.

“Things have changed at the club, but the faces are still the same and I am happy to see everyone. Now I need to do the job.

“What’s important is that we keep the club up.

“The club have shown a lot of trust in me and a lot of determination to bring me in.

“Now I need to give back to them on the field. My goal and my challenge is to do everything possible to help the club stay up – the same as it is for all the players and the staff.

“That’s what I am here for and I will do everything I can to make sure it happens.”

Having climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone courtesy of Tuesday’s sparkling win over Arsenal, the Swans dropped back into the bottom three after Stoke and Southampton picked up points on Wednesday.

But Ayew has been encouraged by his new club’s form since Carvalhal took charge at the end of December.

In eight games under the Portuguese, the Swans have been beaten only once – and that was in contentious circumstances against Spurs.

“The season is going to be long and there will be a lot of tough games,” Ayew added.

“It’s not going to be easy – everyone wants to stay up and when you look at the table, 20th place to ninth or 10th is very, very tight.

“But when you know the players who are here you know the quality they have.

“Sometimes in football you can have some bad results, but I think we have the quality of players to play in the Premier League.

“We want to stay at this level and we need to do everything possible to make sure we don’t let the city down and we don’t let the fans down.”

Ayew had options to consider when it became apparent he could be leaving West Ham during the January transfer window, but he was always keen to return to Wales.

“I had a great moment at the club last time,” he said.

“I had a great feeling with my team-mates and a great relationship with the fans.

“I had a few others to look at, but when the opportunity to come back to Swansea came up, I wanted to take it.

“I felt the fans wanted me back, the chairman wanted me back and the gaffer wanted me, so I am really pleased.”