Black Stars Deputy captain Dede Ayew has hinted that the Gabon AFCON championship served as a good launchpad for him.
He admitted in an interview with West Ham website that he did not give his best shot due to an injury which consigned him to the bench for many weeks.

Yet he has drawn positives from last January’s championship taking into account his consistency in the last AFCON playing in all six games, a development he believes has placed him in a better position for the West Ham duty.

On a whole, he rated Ghana below the pass mark saying, “We weren’t really pleased with the progress because when you’re Ghana, you are there to win the tournament and we have a good squad with good players.”We could have done better, but we gave our best and that wasn’t enough.”

“It was a good tournament and especially for me, coming back from a long injury. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to go to the tournament, which is very important for me and my country.”

“So it was pleasing because I was able to do that and get some minutes and play all the games and get fitter and finish the tournament with no injury.”

“Hopefully I can use this to start a better year with West Ham. I scored in the first game, scored in the quarters, so two goals, two penalties, it’s not bad. I know I could have done better but due to my injuries, I felt better as the game went on. I can use that to do a better performance here.”

The 2009 junior World Cup winner scored the only goal in Ghana’s win over Uganda in the group opener, before adding his second against DR Congo in the quarters from the spot.Black Stars Deputy captain Dede Ayew has hinted that the Gabon AFON championship served as a good launchpad for him.

He admitted in an interview with West Ham website that he did not give his best shot due to an injury which consigned him to the bench for many weeks.

Yet he has drawn positives from last January’s championship taking into account his consistency in the last AFCON playing in all six games, a development he believes has placed him in a better position for the West Ham duty.

On a whole, he rated Ghana below the pass mark saying, “We weren’t really pleased with the progress because when you’re Ghana, you are there to win the tournament and we have a good squad with good players.”We could have done better, but we gave our best and that wasn’t enough.”

“It was a good tournament and especially for me, coming back from a long injury. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to go to the tournament, which is very important for me and my country.”

“So it was pleasing because I was able to do that and get some minutes and play all the games and get fitter and finish the tournament with no injury.”

“Hopefully I can use this to start a better year with West Ham. I scored in the first game, scored in the quarters, so two goals, two penalties, it’s not bad. I know I could have done better but due to my injuries, I felt better as the game went on. I can use that to do a better performance here.”

The 2009 junior World Cup winner scored the only goal in Ghana’s win over Uganda in the group opener, before adding his second against DR Congo in the quarters from the spot.