Kickoff (Cape Town)
11 August 2008
Asamoah Gyan says he is confident the goals will come after his competitive debut for Stade Rennes in the French top flight lasted for just 45 minutes.
The Black Stars forward was handed his first major start in Stade Rennes 4-4 draw against Olympic Marseille.
But the Rennes number 10 did not have the sort of debut he will remember for long.
"The first 20 minutes was really good for me," he told KickOffGhana.com. "I was actively involved in the game, but once we went 1-3 down, it became increasingly difficult for me and I was hardly involved afterwards."
The Marseille game was Asamoah's first at a competitive level since appearing in Ghana's quarterfinal win over Nigeria at the 2008 Nations Cup.
He has since been knocked down by injury and feels the long lay off has affected his conditioning for games.
"I need to work on my conditioning for games because having been out for so long it will take time before I come back into shape. It is the aspect I need to improve in and then I am confident the goals will come."
Gyan was signed from Udinese to provide the goals that will help them to at least a Uefa Cup place, but he says he has got different priorities now.
"There is a lot of expectation on me here and I feel if I am fully fit I am capable of meeting them. But I won't set myself a goal target yet. All I want now is to get back in the best shape physically and recover fully from the long lay off."
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