Columbus Crew defender Lalas Abubakar says his insatiable desire to improve his game has been the main reason behind his recent upsurge of form in the ongoing Major League Soccer campaign.

The budding centre-back has taken the American top flight league by storm this term with some delightful performances.

Abubakar, who scored a late winner against New England last Saturday, has made nine appearances for Crew so far this term, one game less than he made the whole of last year.

According to the 23-year-old, his desire to take his game to the next level has been vital to electric displays for Gregg Berhalter's side.

"I wanted to go to Ghana but the expectations I set for myself for last season, I didn't really achieve it, so I told myself, 'I'm not going to Ghana, and I'm staying and working hard'," Abubakar said, as reported by their Columbus Dispatch.

"I told high-performance director] Steve [Tashjian], I'm going to come [for voluntary workout], and I never missed a single day.

"Even though it's just an optional training, this guy killed us because we run every day - I had to wake up and go.

"I knew what I wanted for myself and I went and ran and tried to improve myself every day.

"I came into the preseason and my expectations never changed and I kept going.

"I'm not going to say it's a surprise I am where I am right now because honestly, I worked for it and that has gotten me here.

"I'm happy to see good things coming. I hope it continues."

He is expected to maintain his place in the Black and Yellows line-up in Sunday's visit to Sporting Kansas City.